Out of the Capitol
by Gingersoup
Summary: Lavinia finds herself torn from her once happy world, parents missing and danger lurking around every corner. With her best friend Coty, they struggle to escape the Capitol and make it safely to District 13. Rated T for violence.
1. Chapter 1

My fingers punch the unlock code to our apartment as I bob my head up and down to my music. I recently had the mp3 clip installed behind my ear. It's not a real clip, but like a microscopic memory card that's connected to your brain. With just a specific twitch of my pinky finger, the song can be changed. Pretty cool. I got it for my 16th birthday.

My parents won't let me have anything other mod, like a cellmod, or really a cellphone at all. I guess they're just a little paranoid. _Lavinia, it's not safe to have any other mod, if it's connected to the web, anyone will be able to find you, anytime, anywhere. _My dad's voice echoes in my head. I snort as I push the door open into our living room,_ a little paranoid. _

I'm 16 years old and I can't even have a cell phone.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home." I call and set my backpack onto the kitchen table. I turn off my music. The flat is eerily quiet, all I hear is the hum of the heater.

"Mom? Dad?" I call a little louder, but no answer.

I search the flat. No luck. After 5 minutes of contemplating I come to the conclusion that they're out. I plop down on the couch and flip the tv on. I try to focus on what's happening between the two characters on the screen but my mind is wandering.

My parents aren't ones to just leave without telling me anything. They leave me a note when they're going on a 10 minute walk, they have a list of emergency numbers on the fridge. I search the apartment again, but I'm a little more thorough.

I pause at the bathroom as I catch my reflection. My dark red hair is actually behaving today, but despite tanning with my friend Claire earlier today- my skin is still porcelain white. My painfully boring brown eyes mock me. I'm the spitting image of my mother, but of course I got my dad's brown eyes. I shut the lights off with a sigh and continue my search.

I'm about to give up but something stops me at their room, the door to their balcony is unlocked. They _always _keep it locked. My stomach drops. I cross over to the door and I open it gingerly, expecting something to jump out at me. Nothing happens but something red catches my eye. It's only a small splatter, but it's there. My breathing quickens. It shines against the blue of the wall, glaring at me.

It's blood.

Why would they be bleeding? Did someone take them? Why else would there be blood? Someone took them and they put up a fight?

"Well, maybe not." I try to reason with myself, "It's just an unlocked door and a really bad bloody nose." Suddenly, with purpose I stride over to the home phone and dial their number.

"I should have done this first." I grumble as the phone rings. And rings. And rings. With each ring the knot in my stomach grows tighter.

I hear my mom's bright message greet me, "Sorry I can't answer right now! I've probably just left my phone in some bathroom. I'll get back to you as soon as I can." Numbly, I hang up the phone.

"You can call me Detective Lavinia." I say dryly. If it were any other situation I probably would have laughed at that. But my parents are kidnapped. Kidnapped? Parentnapped?

Why am I joking at a time like this?

I need to calm down. I focus on my breathing. In, out. In, out.

Okay so I know three things, my parents are missing, someone took them, and they had been part of an organization that had been borderline traitor to the capitol. My parents are fiercely against our government, they were against the whole system. They hated the games. They hated the fact that the districts existed.

They sought change, but their pleas fell on plugged ears.

It didn't matter what they did, how many boycotts they had, or protests, or petitions. Nothing changed. The games still went on, the districts still were districts, and president Snow was still indifferent to all of the suffering.

They say indifferent when they really mean he's the one causing the suffering.

I walk to my bedroom and shut the door shakily, what do I do now? Should I file a missing person report? How do I do that? I slide down to the floor in shock and despair.

I'm only 16. I haven't even started driving yet.

I bet even if I did file a report it wouldn't do anything. What if the people who took them are the same people who I would file the report to? The thought made me shiver.

An idea comes to me and I stand up, I'll call Coty. Coty and I have been best friends since we were little, our parents were friends so we've shared almost everything. He'll know what to do.

"Hello?" I hear Coty's familiar voice after it rings a couple of times and a lump forms in my throat.

"Coty, it's me. Something's happened." I try to say steadily.

"Lavinia? What's going on?" He says, obviously worried.

"My parents are gone."

"Well, I'm sure they'll be home soon."

"_No no no no_. Someone took them. The balcony door was unlocked, and there was," I swallow, "Blood. There was blood." I reply, willing him to understand.

"Are you sure?" His voice comes back.

"Yes." I press the button that makes the phone hands-free and I grab my backpack, dumping everything out onto my bed. The sight of my school textbooks spilling onto my bed makes me want to laugh. All of that school for nothing.

"Should I come pick you up?" He asks.

"No, let's meet halfway like normal." I reply and begin stuffing clothes into my bag, I've decided that it's not safe here anymore.

"Lavinia, just.. Just be careful." He tells me and I blink back tears, "You do know who raised me, right?" I reply, we say goodbye and hang up.

I pack the sturdiest clothes I own and head to the kitchen. I've never been so glad to have such paranoid parents as I open the emergency cupboard. (Which is in a hidden compartment behind the real cupboard) I pack a first aid kit, a survival kit and the next thing I grab surprises me- It's a small weapon, a pocket knife.

I've never held a weapon before this, it seems so small. I weigh it in my hand and try to imagine using it. It just seems wrong. At the last second I tuck it into my back pocket.

"Just in case." I tell myself.

I zip up my pack and put both straps on. I decide to leave out the back door, just in case. I gear up in my protectgear and grab my bike. Before I step out the door I look around my little home. Or what used to be my home, it's not much of a home without them.

That old saying, "Home is where the heart is" has never been more true to me. A lump forms in my throat and I know I have to leave. I step out and shut the door behind me.

. . .

It's amazing how life goes on when yours is falling down around you, the neighborhood kids still play, the oldies still sit in the parks, and the adults are just getting home from work. I wish I could be as carefree as them. I shake my head and mount my bike, riding it out of my neighborhood.

As soon as I take off down the busy city street I immediately know something's wrong; A black van is following me. I don't know how long it's been there. I keep pushing on but there's a little alarm bell going off in the back of my head. My red hair obstructs my view when I try to look back, though.

I blow it out of my face, I should have put it up.

I turn a corner sharply and almost run into a trio of brightly colored Junkies, "Sorry!" I call out and ignore the obscenities being yelled at me.

It's now or never, I have to shake them. I fly through an alley way that cuts through to the state park. I hear the van slam on it's breaks and I smirk. _Good luck fitting through there. _I keep peddling and make it into the winding bike paths of the state park.

I hear some ruckus behind me and I look over my shoulder, three uniforms are chasing me on similar bikes. Helmets hiding their faces, bikes nearly hitting people, they fly through the groups, uncaring. _It's a black peacekeeper uniform_. I notice.

I've seen them before, but mostly in malls and clubs, to keep order. And well, peace.

But these black uniforms seem to want exactly the opposite. They shove through groups and almost run over some joggers. Are these the people who took my parents?

My mind is racing and I'm at a loss for what to do until I hear cheers from the street. I see it: a marathon with lots of runners. I take a deep breath. Okay, here we go.

I turn sharply and cut through the well-trimmed lawn of the state park, pulling into the opposite flow of the runners. Panicked, they jump out of the way, some faster than others. I hear a thump and look over my shoulder, one of the bikers accidentally hit a runner. The runner's friends are helping him up and yelling at the black uniform.

I grin in triumph. One down, two to go.

After the mob of runners thin the black uniforms are catching up to me; I grit my teeth in annoyance. What does a girl have to do to get a diversion around here? I'm getting exhausted.

Five blocks and my legs are screaming at me and I'm breathing heavily. The sun seems to be beating down harder than ever. I can't keep this up forever. I consider letting them catch me, I mean, what're they going to do? Arrest me? For what?

But I think of what could be happening to my parents and I shiver. No, I have to keep running. I look around, searching for something that will help me.

A large cargo craft with the Capitol emblem on it is being loaded up in the street to my right. I decide what I have to do. I turn at the last minute and I see the two bikes fly past me, alarmed and slamming on their brakes. Perfect, I fly down the small street and up a ramp, and right into the back of the cargo craft.

I hit the crates, hard, scraping myself up and I'm sure I'll feel the full force of it tomorrow. Thankfully the automatic doors are closing and I see the black uniforms looking for me, I scramble down behind a large crate. That was lucky.

The doors shut and I'm left in the cool darkness. I collapse to the cold metal floor, sweat dripping down my forehead.

"I am never moving ever again." I swear to myself as I throw my helmet off.

I hear the engine rumble on and the cabin jerks a little as it starts through the streets. I wonder vaguely where we're going but my focus is on how hot I am. Heat radiates off of me and my head thuds from a migraine. I've never been able to handle heat very well. I try to formulate a plan in my head as it glides along. My thoughts are muddled, everything is jumbled and I'm confused with what is real and what isn't. The heat is getting to me. But I do know one thing.

I have to get out of the Capitol, and fast.


	2. Chapter 2

I walk my bike up the house's walkway, dragging my feet. I'm exhausted; mentally, physically and emotionally. I ring the doorbell and resist the urge to curl up on their doorstep like a cat. The moon is high in the night sky and the temperature has dropped significantly. The lights come on in the house and someone peaks out the window. I hear an exclamation and the door flies open. I'm enveloped in a warm embrace.

"Oh dear, are you hurt?" Coty's mom, Saffron, asks me and holds me at arm's length. I shrug and give the plump woman a tired smile.

"Just a little banged up is all." I reply honestly as she checks my face for bruises or scratches. Her eyes flood with relief and she gathers me up in another hug.

"Coty! Len! Lavinia's here!" She calls and releases me, "Go ahead and leave your bike out there."

I look down and notice that I've been gripping my bike the entire time. I nod dumbly and set it against their porch. I unclip my helmet and drop it next to the bike. When I get inside Saffron sits me on the couch and brings me a glass of water, I gulp it down.

"We were so worried when Coty told us about your parents. And when you didn't show up-" She chokes back a sob, "we thought you had been taken too." She wipes her eyes and takes a shaky breath. I pat her knee awkwardly; I don't know what to say. I feel as though my mouth is glued shut, I don't have the energy to pry it open.

"Mom what did you say?" Coty asks as he comes down the stairs, "I was taking a shower an-" He starts but his voice fades out when his eyes land on me. I think about how I must look: helmet hair, bruises, cuts on my hands and knees, bags under my eyes...

I'm a mess.

But apparently he doesn't notice because the next thing I know I'm wrapped up in his arms, he smells clean and his damp hair tickles my face. He holds me out, much like his mother just did, "What happened? I was so worried when you weren't at the meeting point. Are you okay?" He asks me. I search his blue eyes and decide to tell him the truth, there's really no point in lying to him.

"I was chased. I had to think quickly to get away." I say, finding my voice. I think back to the risky moves that I took to get here, "Really it's a miracle I'm not in a worse condition."

"Chased? By who?" He asks me.

I shake my head, "I don't know. But they were wearing black peacekeeper uniforms." I say as I think back to the strange outfits.

"It really is a miracle you're here." Len says as he comes up from the basement. He adjusts his glasses and gives me a smile, "The people who were chasing you are dangerous people." There's a silence and I stare at him, uncomprehending.

Coty gapes at his father, "You know them?"

His father shakes his head and sits in his armchair, he motions for us to join him in sitting. I stay where I am.

"I don't know them. But I know of them." He stalls and I'm annoyed.

"What do you know about them?" I ask him, cutting straight to the point. He hesitates and Saffron stiffens in the corner of my vision, she's remained mysteriously quiet through this conversation. "Tell me." I say.

"They're an anti-rebellion organization." He informs me, causing confusion to muddle my thoughts.

"So why are they after my family?" I ask.

"To silence you." Coty says quietly and Len nods sadly.

"Your parents were pretty much in charge of the rebellion in the Capitol." He says slowly, as if to make sure I hear every word. I blink and nod my head slowly.

"I guess that makes sense, with everything." I say numbly, I can't believe I'd never realized it before. How could I be so stupid? All of those trips, the constant paranoia, the strong connections with certain other families.

"Pretty much?" I add as an afterthought, "Who else was there?"

"One of the Gamemakers is the leader of the whole Capitol rebellion." Saffron adds quietly. "The rest of the rebellion is in District 13."

I almost laugh out loud at that, District 13? Everyone knows that was destroyed years ago. But I keep my mouth shut, not wanting to interrupt.

"Are you guys a part of this?" Coty asks cautiously. They both nod and he stares at them, gaping.

"Coty," His mother starts but he holds up a finger, glaring at both of them.

"Did it ever cross your mind to tell me?" He asks and they look at each other, sharing a private moment.

"Honey, we didn't want you involved. It's way too dangerous." Saffron tries to comfort him, he shakes her off and her eyes fill with tears.

"And what if they had come for you guys?" Coty snaps.

Len shakes his head, "They didn't, and now we know it's a threat so we can prepare." He says rationally, but it seems like Coty doesn't even hear.

"It doesn't matter how 'prepared we are', they're going to kill us. Nothing can prepare us." He lifts his head, furious and points to the door.

"What happens if they burst through that door right now?" He's yelling now. "How could you be so stupid?"

His father stands up and yells back and I want to just seep in between the cushions and live with the lint and lost change underneath. After a few moments I retreat back outside and let them fight, I really should lock my bike up properly anyway. After everything's checked and double checked. I sit on their steps, just looking at the stars. After a few minutes the shouting ceases and I sit and listen to the crickets until Coty joins me outside.

"Hey." I say.

"Hey." He sighs and rubs his temples. It was a weird scene in there, Coty doesn't get mad. I've barely seen him flustered.

"You okay?" I ask and look over at him, studying him.

"Yeah." He replies, stretching out on the stairs.

"How come you got so mad?" I can't help asking.

"Because you're hurting Lavinia. I see it. And then he goes and dumps the whole 'Capital Rebellion' on you." He says and I swallow hard. He knows me so well.

"Both of our parents have royally screwed us over." I reply.

"Our parents shouldn't have had children." He says bluntly. I blink in surprise but slowly I realize he's right. We're just going to get killed because of their actions.

"Or when they did they should have dropped the whole 'District 13' nonsense." I say bitterly and he shakes his head.

"No, that's not nonsense." He stands up and offers me his hand.

"What do you mean? There's no way District 13 could have survived." I accept his hand and he pulls me up. He laughs, "You mean your parents never told you?" He asks and I frown, I don't like being laughed at.

"Obviously not." I snap and he holds his hands up, "Right, Sorry." He says but is still smirking. I fold my arms and wait for him to continue.

"We don't know exactly why, but there was some kind of agreement between District 13 and the Capitol. District 13 was destroyed, but the people there aren't dead." He explains and my eyebrows furrow in confusion, "Actually pretty far from that, they must be quite dangerous for someone as stubborn as Snow to not want to fight them."

"Wait, so how do you even know all this?" I ask, holding up a hand before he can continue, "How can you expect anyone to believe this without some sort of proof?"

"But there is proof, Nia." He says, eyes shining. "Every year before the games they show footage of District 13, reminding us all of how easily they were crushed, right?" Coty asks me.

I stare at him. "I've never seen the games." I say plainly.

Realization crosses his face, "Oh, right. I forgot." He laughs awkwardly. "Not allowed to."

My parents never let me watch the games, they told me it was not for my eyes. I obeyed and sat in my room while my parents watched the games on the television. I could still hear the muted screams and shouts and the clanging of weapon on weapon through the wall. It scared me enough to never want to watch it, I would sit in the dark and listen. Just waiting for my mom to come in and comfort me.

"Mom." I cried while she held me, "I don't want to go in the games." I didn't understand. She soothed my red hair back away from my face. "Oh, honey. You won't be in the games. I promise you."

"But those other children have to go!" I buried my face in her shirt, "I'm their age! What if I get chosen?"

Her voice quivered as she explained it to me, "Nia, only the children in the districts get chosen." I blinked in confusion and sniffled, nose stuffy from crying. "But why? They're just like me."

"Because the people in charge are sick." She would say and I could hear the anger and determination in her voice.

"Well, anyway, when you look to the right, just above the remains of their townhouse you'll see a bird flying away. Each year it's the same bird, same footage." Coty explains, breaking through my memory. I bring my focus back to him.

"So?" I ask, "It's just a bird."

"The same bird flying in the same direction at the exact same time each time the camera crew visits?" He asks me and I finally understand.

"They're reusing footage."

"Exactly. And that means that for some reason, Snow doesn't want to go back out there." He finishes.

"Wow." I breathe and he nods.

"It's crazy isn't it?"

Suddenly I'm swaying on my feet. "This...this is so much." I say as black clouds form a tunnel in my vision. Coty reaches out to steady me and I want to do nothing more than to go back to my house and my bed and my life. I didn't ask for any of this. I was just about to finish Secondary School.

"You need food." He says and leads me back into the warm light of his house.

. . .

After dinner I feel better, but the atmosphere hasn't changed at all. Coty glares daggers at his father, and his father stares back, a stony look on his face. And all the while Saffron is running about the house, getting my bed ready. She bustles from room to room, finding anything to do.

"Saffron." I say quietly as she organizes my rooms' dressers even though there's hardly anything in there to organize. Her hands shake.

"Oh hello dear." She says, not looking at me. "Just doing a bit of tidying."

"Saffron." I say again and she looks up at me, she has tears in her eyes. "Everything will be okay." I assure her and she wipes a few escaping tears away.

"Coty hates me. I should have told him. I should have told you." She chokes out and I hug her, trying to soothe her.

"Coty would never hate you. He's just angry because you put yourselves in danger." And you put us in danger, too.

"Oh, thank you Lavinia." She pulls away and tries to smile, "I'll just go see how things are with them." She sweeps out of the room.

I lie down since the first time this morning and it feels heavenly. I stretch out on the comforter like a cat. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this. I wonder where we'll go to hide. There aren't many places that don't have peacekeepers guarding them.

Suddenly I'm afraid. Afraid for what's going to happen, afraid for my parents, afraid for Coty and I, for his parents. I curl up and turn to the side, pulling my knees to my chest. I've been afraid before, but never this afraid. I was afraid when I was about to play my first soccer game, when I was warming up for my first track meet, auditioning for the school play. That afraid is nothing compared to this kind. Back then my adrenaline was running high; I was elated, not just afraid. But now, I'm so terrified I can't even move from my position, I'm moments from tears and hyperventilating.

Suddenly, Coty bursts into my room, "Lavinia, come downstairs." He says urgently and I start so badly that he gives me an odd look. "Are you alright?" He asks me and I nod, standing up.

"Yes. Of course." I say. He searches my face. He knows I'm lying. He doesn't push it though and we walk downstairs.

"The Markhams aren't answering their phones." Len says grimly and sets his cell on the counter. The Markhams are our other close family friends, of course they would be involved too.

"What does this mean?" Saffron asks and grasps her husband's hands.

"We need to be gone in the morning." Coty speaks up, his intensity surprises me and I nod, agreeing. I turn to Len, "What about my Mom and Dad? Is there anyway for us to save them?"

"Lavinia…" He starts but I already know what he's going to tell me. I want to plug my ears. "I thought you would have realized by now." I don't want to hear the words I know he'll say, "Your parents are dead."

. . .

I turn the shower on and turn the settings to a warm drizzle, I feel so numb. Shouldn't I feel something?

I climb into the stall and stand for a while under the warm water. My parents are dead. I guess I already knew that, I was just deep in denial. I'm not mad at Len for telling me the truth, someone had to. I wash the dirt and sweat away and my mind drifts to my mom and dad.

I can't believe that it was just this morning that I had said goodbye to them and left for school. Just this morning my life had been normal, I had laughed with my friends, fell asleep in class, had soccer practice. Everyday life. Now it's like all the things I've learned, all the money I've saved, the scholarships I've earned, are nothing. Poof. No meaning.

All because my Mom and Dad were in way over their head in something that ultimately got them killed.

Killed. Cold, unmoving, unknowing. I've never had someone in my family die. My mom's parents died young and my dad was an orphan, so really I never had any grandparents to lose.

I bend down to grab the shampoo off the tiled floor and I almost fall over, my vision blacks around the edges and I breathe deeply until it's gone.

My mom would be yelling at me for overworking myself, she would tell me to drink water because I'm probably dehydrated. I smile dryly because I've only had one glass and she probably would have ripped me a new one.

And then it hits me.

I'll never hear her voice nagging me to stay cool, I'll never come home from school with her singing songs in the kitchen, I'll never be surprised with my clean laundry put away neatly in my drawers. My mom is gone. The tears come fast and hot, I gasp and it echoes through the bathroom.

And then my mind moves to my other loss, my father. I was always a daddy's girl.

One of the first things I remember about him is his beard; I loved it as a baby and well into my childhood. Every time I sat in his lap or he picked me up I would rub my face all over his whiskers. That's what he called them, his whiskers. It would always crack my family's friends up whenever they came by.

"Look at her, she loves her daddy." They would say and my dad would chuckle.

The earliest image I can remember of my mom, I was looking through the transparent walls of my crib. My mom was curled up on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and snoring quietly, her auburn hair tied back in a ponytail. A paperback book was open against her chest. If I had known what beautiful was, that's exactly what she would have been to me in that moment.

My beautiful mom. I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss both of them. I burst into tears and shake my head, sending water droplets flying.

My emotions come in waves, I'm crying into my arms, back against the cold tile wall.

It was like I hadn't really realized the finality of their captivity: once you're taken by the Capitol, there's no way you can get out.

I can't take the pain coursing through me. Grief and guilt and anger. I dig my nails into my palms. The pain is sharp and biting, but I don't want to release the pressure.

I suck air in through my teeth to try to quiet my sobs. Hot tears roll down my cheeks and blend with the shower water. Hiccupping breaths begin to take over. I hate crying. I hate those stupid black uniformed peacekeepers. I hate feeling this way. I hate the sharp pain of my fingernails. I hate knowing the fate of my parents.

And more than anything:

I hate the Capitol.

* * *

><p>Authors note: oh SNAP. Things are getting serious! Thank you for reading if you have, I might have no readers but HEY.<p>

Please review and tell me what you think so far! It would mean the world to me.

Thank you to SuperSexySisters for reviewing. Although I don't really understand what you said, thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

The house is quiet as I toss and turn under the comforter, afraid that Coty's parents can hear me shuffling around. I peek at the clock; it's only 12:23.

Giving up on sleep, I throw the blankets off me and softly pad downstairs. I'm careful not to wake anyone. Coty's room is in the basement. His door is disguised as just another wall panel in the kitchen.

I guess my parents aren't the only paranoid ones.

I search each panel until I find the hidden doorknob, I pull it open. The basement is colder than the rest of the house and I shiver.

"Coty?" I whisper, not wanting to scare him, just in case he's awake. I shut the door firmly. There isn't a response as I make my way down the creaky stairs.

I make it downstairs and I laugh quietly when I see him. He's spread out on his mattress, blankets kicked to the floor. He looks like a 12 year old with his face relaxed and his sandy hair sticking up at all ends.

I walk up to him and put my hand on his warm cheek, "Coty." I say and his eyes flutter open.

"Nia? What's wrong?" He asks and sits up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"I couldn't sleep." I say, suddenly ashamed for disturbing his dreams. "Sorry for waking you up." I whisper timidly.

"You're fine." He says, slowly gaining awareness. "Here." He mumbles and scoots over to the other side of his bed, I climb on.

"How come you couldn't sleep?" He asks.

"I'm afraid." I say quietly.

"I am too." He replies and he holds out his hand, I grab it. He feels that I'm shaking.

"Everything will be okay." Coty whispers and squeezes my hand. And I believe him. I think I'd believe just about anything he says, with his warm hand on mine, the determination in his eyes. He lets my hand go and I wish he hadn't.

"Coty?" I ask, looking at the ceiling. I don't want him to see my face.

"Hmm?" He says, checking the time on his cell. I take a deep breath.

"I want you to show me the games."

He almost drops his phone and he turns to look at me, eyebrows raised.

"Are you sure?" He asks.

"Yes."

. . .

The games aren't what I imagined all those nights, they're worse. So much worse. Coty keeps his arm around me the entire time we watch them. We're on his couch in his basement and he tries to protect me from the cold.

I'm terrified by what I see, but I don't look away, not once. I want to see these images that pushed my parents to become rebels. And now, I completely understand why they did.

The careers scare me the most, how can someone kill so mercilessly like they do? I find myself crying at one death in particular; a 12 year old boy who was in an alliance. They survived toward the end, but it came down to them and the Careers. The boy cried for his alliance to kill him, he knew he wouldn't win. He just didn't want to die in the violent hands of a career.

His friend, crying and hands shaking, shot him through the heart with an arrow. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. So sorry." The friend said over and over to the dying boy. I'm not sure who he was apologizing to: the boy, his family, the friends own family, or the boy's whole district. I feel the pain as if I'm right there with them.

I wipe away the tears I didn't know I was crying. Coty watches me, a sad look on his face.

"Do you want me to turn it off?" He asks, eyes full of sympathy.

"No." I whisper, shaking my head.

We watch more gruesome deaths and in-game drama; I'm leaning on him now. My eyes feel heavy and I'm so warm on his couch. I hear his strong heartbeat and I take comfort in it.

Coty's alive; he's strong and safe with me. We can make it through this. As long as I have him, we'll be okay.

I feel the light brush of lips on my forehead before I drift off.

We'll be okay.

. . .

We're waken up to trampling footsteps that shake the whole house; we both jump up and look at the ceiling. Fear washes through me. They're here. The black uniforms are here to take us away just like they took my parents away. I remember the glistening red against the wall and I fight the urge to scream and curl up in a shuddering ball of Lavinia.

Coty, wasting no time, runs over to his dresser and pulls out two emergency backpacks. They're packed similar to the one I had earlier in the day. I look down at me and feel stupid, I'm dressed in my pajamas and I have no shoes on.

"What will we do?" I hiss as he hands me a bag. He holds up a finger to his mouth for me to keep quiet.

I nod and we here a loud bang above us, and then a scream. Saffron's scream. Shouts ring out and more banging.

I look over at Coty and he's breathing heavily, anger and fear taking over his face.

"Let's go." I whisper urgently. "We can't save them."

He looks at me and blinks away tears; I've never seen him cry. "Right." He whispers in a strangled voice.

"Search the house!" We hear above us after the bangs and the screaming cease.

Coty moves quickly, he props open his window that's just the size for a human to crawl through. I wonder if he's really desperate enough to escape right out into the open air. But my doubts are washed away as I watch him cross the room and pull out a large air conditioning vent cover that's behind the washing machine. I look in, it's a dark tunnel.

"Go. Go." He whispers and we both crawl in, he covers the hole back up with the vent.

It's not high enough for us to stand, so we crawl as fast as we can without making any noise. The air is musty and damp and I wonder where this tunnel will let out.

We hear another bang from the room and we know that they've found the basement. But they won't find anyone. We're already down the tunnel far enough that they won't catch up in time. Plus, they'll think we escaped outside. He is brilliant.

The tunnel is getting smaller and smaller as we go on, I'm beginning to feel trapped. I stop, too afraid to crawl further.

"Keep going, Lavinia. Trust me." Coty says from behind me and I do.

Right before I feel as though I won't be able to make it any further the tunnel shoots up into a full blown sewer. We both scramble through and stand up. I can't even touch the roof when I stretch my hands up.

"Grab your flashlight." He says and unzips his backpack, I unzip mine too. I have to rummage around for a while until I find the flashlight with my hand since it's so dark. I turn the flashlight on and shine it in the backpack. Thankfully the bag has another spare outfit and shoes. I put the shoes on and a light jacket over my thin plain t-shirt.

We strap up and I start down the new tunnel. I stop and cock my head to the side when I don't hear Coty's footsteps following behind me.

"Coty?" I whisper and turn around, shining my flashlight on his figure. He's just standing at the beginning of the tunnel. He's afraid, I think.

"Coty, we have to keep moving." I tell him. He doesn't look at me, his stony face stares straight ahead.

I walk up to him and put my hands on each side of his face, he turns to look at me, fear and sadness growing in his blue eyes. "We left them behind." He chokes out and my heart squeezes. And then I realize he's not afraid, he's heartbroken.

"We couldn't do anything to help," I whisper, tears gathering in my eyes. "But I know they wouldn't have wanted us to stop here." I take a shuddering breath, "They would want us to keep moving."

He nods and wipes at his wet eyes. I gently take his hand and lead him down the tunnel, my flashlight leading the way.

I feel like a little kid again, although I was always the shy one who didn't want to try anything new out. On free balloon day, I really really wanted a balloon. But of course, I was too frightened to ask for it. Coty took my hand and confidently led me to the balloon stand, but now it's me leading Coty along. And it definitely isn't a balloon stand we're heading toward.

"What are these tunnels anyway?" I ask as I hear the sound of rushing water. A funk reaches my nostrils and I scrunch my nose up in displeasure. When I listen closer there's another sound there too, but I can't identify it.

"They're the utility pipes and passages under the city; it's where everything is run." Coty informs me as we make our way down the side of the tunnel. This walkway isn't very large and I'm nervous of falling into the disgusting smelling sludge water. We detach hands and walk single file. I can't help but feel a chill on my hand where his used to be. I notice that the unidentified sound grows louder, it sounds like shuffling.

"Everything?" I ask about the pipes and passages, trying to keep my mind off the creepy noise.

"Electricity, plumbing, heating…some Avoxes work down here too." Coty answers quietly. He turns down the corner, "Now we look for a door." He mumbles and I wonder how he knows, then I see the blueprints of the tunnels in his hands and my eyebrows raise. I study the back of his head and wonder how far ahead they planned.

Suddenly I realize the shuffling is so loud it's as though the sound is coming from right behind us. I stop and listen carefully, and slowly I realize that it is shuffling. The shuffling of hundreds of little feet. Coty stops too, but he's too engrossed in his prints that he doesn't hear them. I turn around slowly and flip on my light.

I'm greeted by the sight of hundreds of red-eyed, huge rats. My natural instincts kick in and I freeze, every muscle locking up in my body. Their beady eyes watch us, we're in their territory. I've never seen so many pairs of eyes glaring at me before.

"Don't make any sudden movements." I whisper as quietly as I can to Coty.

"What- Why?" He says and turns around, he was too preoccupied with his blueprints that he didn't sense the urgency in my voice. He catches sight of the oversized vermin and he lets out a loud, shocked curse. His flashlight flies from his hand and lands on the concrete floor with a crash, the glass breaks.

"What part of 'don't make any sudden movements' do you not underst-" I start but I'm interrupted by a long, boiling, hissing noise. I turn my attention back to the rats and I see that they're not happy at all. Their bodies vibrate in anger, gray hair raised in matted tufts.

"Okay. Time to go." I hear Coty's shaking voice behind me and we make a break for it. We take off running and I push my legs as fast as they can go on the slick ground, but I can still hear the little slaps of their feet as they follow close behind. Normal rats can't run this fast, and they certainly don't go after humans 5 times their size. Then I realize- these are muttations. In other words, they're mutants designed by the capitol for their twisted uses.

What are their uses? Are they to keep away the refugees? Or to do something else to them? I shiver and push the thought from my head.

"Since when are… rats this… terrifying!" I hear Coty shout between labored breaths and I realize he must already be having a hard time with keeping up. I was the one in track. I look back with my flashlight to check on him but I immediately regret this decision. There seem to be even more vermin from before, they crawl over each other and get caught beneath the new advancing wave of rats. It's like a rolling wave of the ocean. But instead of sparkling clear water, it's an ocean of monstrous mutt rats. Even though I've only seen them on TV, I prefer the ocean waves.

"Keep going!" I cry, terrified. I hear a hard slap behind me and Coty's strangled scream follows. He fell. Coty fell!

"Coty!" I yell desperately and scramble to a stop. I try to beat the cat sized rats off of him with my flashlight, and he's covering his face with his hands and trying to fight them off. It's a losing battle for both of us. I throw my backpack off my back because it's getting in the way.

"Get- off- OF HIM!" I shout, tears streaming down my face. I'm slowly losing hope that I'll be able to save him.

After kicking the rats off doesn't work I grab a hold of his hand and heave him up with all of my strength. He scrambles up and tries to kick himself free of his remaining passengers.

We're both running as fast as we can but we can feel them just at our feet. I feel a sharp stab of pain start at my calf and run up my leg; I whimper and fall to the floor. I feel dozens of little legs covering me. Their sharp teeth bite into my skin as if it is nothing but a piece of cheese. I scream in pain, my skin is on fire. I cover my head in my arms and turn my face into the ground, protecting my eyes and mouth. I can tell that Coty is trying to kick and beat them off me, but his efforts do nothing. I'm in so much pain I can't tell if the constant shrieking in my ears is from the mutt rats or if it's me screaming.

Eventually, the screams fade.

Then, everything starts to fade: the pain, the bites, Coty's desperate cries.

I hear a slam and the whoosh of something above me, and then a guttural wordless cry.

The whooshing continues and I feel the little bodies scurry off of me, hissing. I feel heat around my back and hear them scuttle away. Two pairs of strong arms lift me off the floor and I'm just barely able to stand back on my feet. I'm trembling and wondering vaguely what's happening. I hear Coty's frantic voice trying to say something, but it's not to me. Something sticky runs down my back and calves. I feel strangely numb.

"I don't think she'll stay conscious for much longer." I hear Coty say but he sounds far away, as if he's down a long tunnel. "-A lot of blood." I catch a fragment of what he's saying.

I can't stay awake even though I want to. I want to call out for Coty but my lips are glued shut and I can't even feel my arms enough to reach out to him. The tunnel that separates me from Coty grows until all of the light at the end is completely gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Lavinoty is just the sweetest thing for me. I totally ship them and I'm the one who's writing this story. <strong>

**So this is my favorite chapter, everything just came to me and I'm very proud of it.**

**Review it! Let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 4

When I wake up, I'm lying down on my stomach on a hard, flat surface. There's a constant machine-like rumbling that fills the room.

I keep my eyes closed and my breathing even, mostly because I'm afraid of what's going to happen when I move. I remember the mutt rats very well. Mostly I remember how they cut through my skin like it was nothing. I can tell that my torso and both of my calves are wrapped in gauze or some kind of medical wrapping.

"Do you think she's awake?" I hear Coty's voice ask someone quietly.

Who is he talking to? Is this the second pair of hands I felt earlier? I don't hear a reply, just the sound of what I assume is a pen scribbling on paper.

"Yeah, but maybe she needs a bit more sleep." Coty replies to the scribbles and I try not to let the confusion show on my face. More scribbling.

"Well I had my map right here-" He gasps and I hear his chair scrape the floor as he stands up, "My blueprints! They're gone!" The disappointment in his voice is obvious, "I must have dropped them when the rats attacked." He groans.

I feel a cramp in my neck and I try to shift my position. I automatically groan in pain, my back feels as though each healing bite was torn open again.

"She's awake!" I hear Coty exclaim hopefully and they make their way over to me.

I open my eyes slowly and I'm greeted by Coty's brilliant sky blue eyes. He looks just about ready to either cry or lift me up in the air.

I'd like neither, please and thank you.

"How do you feel?" Coty takes my hand.

"Like I've just had a near death experience with mutt rats." I croak once I pry my mouth open. "Water?" I ask and try to sit up, but a fresh pain rips through me. I cry out and collapse back against the table. Coty helplessly grips my hand.

I take in my surroundings. It's a very narrow, cramped room with pipes and beams all around. A big boiler stands proudly in one of corners, which must be the source of the roaring noise. A cluttered desk sits in the other corner, littered with sheets of paper, tools and blueprints. I note that the table I'm sitting on must be another work table that was cleared off. A few lanterns are hung on the walls and they give the room a warm orange glow.

I bring my attention back to Coty, he's saying something.

"Do you feel okay? Do you need more sleep?" Coty asks and searches my eyes, fear and worry on his face.

I think of my new wounds and then remember that Coty was attacked too.

"How're yours?" I ask and he smiles sadly; He holds out his arms and I see them wrapped in clean, white bandages.

"They're nothing compared to yours." He says and looks up at the man who must have been my savoir. He's out of my sight and I turn my head awkwardly to look at him.

He's a big burly man with kind eyes and sandy blonde hair. His beard is almost completely red.

"That's Pollux." Coty says after seeing me look at the man, "He's the man who saved you. He can't talk because he's an Avox. So don't think he's just been ignoring you this whole time." Coty grins and Pollux looks appreciatively at him.

"Can we sit you up?" Coty asks me, "You need water and we need to re-wrap your bandages." He says and I blink. My bandages. Come to think of it, I don't feel my shirt at all.

My face burns as I realize they must have had to clean me up and wrap me, taking my torn up shirt off. At least my bra is still on.

"Er- Yeah." I say and they both help me up, the pain makes me dizzy and I almost fall back down.

"You okay?" Coty asks and steadies me, Pollux holds up a bottle of water and I accept it thankfully.

I raise my hands obediently as they unwrap me. I gag when I see the bandages they pull off. They're stained red with my blood. Is it really that bad? Pollux tosses them in a large trash can and I sit there in my bra and shorts, swallowing my pride. He seems unfazed at my indecency but Coty won't look at me at all. I want to laugh. Such a gentleman.

After I get some mysterious gel on my back, I get wrapped back up. The gel works wonders and my back instantly feels a hundred times better. My arms aren't in nearly such bad shape and they don't take as long.

Soon my calves, arms, and back are all wrapped up again; I feel as though I could kiss both of them.

"Here." Coty says, still not looking at me as he thrusts an extra pair of clothes into my hands.

"Thanks." I mumble, feeling insecure again. Pollux scribbles something on his notepad and shows it to both of us.

_I have to do my rounds. Be back in an hour._

We both nod and he leaves out the heavy steel door and into the dark tunnel. I quickly dress myself as Coty turns around.

"So what now?" I cut through the silence and sit back on the table.

"Now, we wait." Coty sighs and turns around to face me.

"For what?"

"Pollux. Since he still has to give us the way out." Coty looks toward the door, "I lost my blueprints out there. And your backpack."

He gives me a look and adds, "You know, if you'd kept your backpack on you wouldn't have suffered such bad injuries."

"And I wouldn't have been able to save you." I try not to snap. I change the subject, not wanting to fight with him, "Can we trust him?" I look at the door too, thinking of the towering silent man.

"Of course we can." Coty says, "He could get the death penalty for helping us."

"It's so lucky he came along." Coty lets out a huff of air. "I don't think I could have saved us."

I study him. He looks so beaten down, so defeated.

"It's not your fault." I say quietly, "We couldn't run fast enough."

Coty lets out a loud uncontrolled laugh, "I was the only one who couldn't run fast enough! You were almost around the corner when I was just starting to run! You had to slow down for me."

I start to object but he keeps going, "You pulled me from the rats and I couldn't even do that for you!" Coty shakes his head while looking at his hands, he sits down on the metal bench behind him.

"There were just so many, and then more and more came out of nowhere." He puts his face in his shaking hands, "They started attacking me too, and then Pollux shows up and starts swinging a huge torch at them. He was screaming and grunting, it scared them away."

I blink, that's the heat on my back I felt. We really are lucky Pollux showed up when he did. I owe him my life.

"Hey." I turn my attention back to Coty, comforting him. I jump down from my spot and go over to his bench even though my legs and back protest, "We're both alive. That's all that matters."

He looks at me with an emotion I can't name, then he stands up and starts pacing. He's mumbling to himself and I watch him, concerned. His hands are wringing together, worry and something else etched on his face.

"Why am I feeling this way now?" He groans.

"What way?" I ask but he doesn't hear me, or if he does he just shrugs my question off.

"Our families are dead and we're on the run. We almost got killed by mutant rats and we're putting our life in the hands of an Avox we've only known for 3 hours!" He throws his hands up in the air.

"I almost saw you die, Lavinia. When you stopped screaming I was terrified. I thought you were going to die. I- I realized something, right then and there." He stops and looks at me; I'm taken back by the intensity in his eyes.

My heart flutters, "What did you realize?"

"That I won't- no, I can't live without you." Coty says and I feel the air rush out of me, he reaches for my hands. "I like you, I really really like you."

"Coty.." I start to say but he cuts me off.

"No. You don't have to say it back, I just wanted to tell you. Just in case.

. . .

When Pollux returns he finds Coty and I sitting on the table, my head resting on Coty's shoulder.

My head is still reeling from Coty's confession. He _does_ like me! I thought I was going insane. Do I like him back? The nonstop flips in my stomach are making me believe so.

We both straighten up as drops his tool bag with a thud. He collapses on one of his stools and stretches out; I can almost hear his bones popping.

He closes his eyes and puts his dirt caked hands on his forehead. I feel sorry for him. It must be hard work, being down here. I could barely last an hour in these tunnels; I can't imagine having to stay down here for _years_.

Coty looks at me and I look at him, we share a silent glance and both agree to not disturb him. He'll talk to us when he's ready.

After a few minutes of silence my stomach growls loudly and Pollux laughs from his chair. I'm embarrassed but I take note that his laugh sounds normal; you don't need a tongue to laugh.

"Sorry." I apologize.

"It's been a while since we've eaten." Coty explains.

Pollux lifts his head and reaches over to retrieve his notepad from his cluttered desk. He scribbles for a bit and shows it to us.

_There's some food in the cupboard._

We get off the table and check the small cupboard across the room, there's a few cans of beans, some soup, and a loaf of bread. Coty tears the bread in half, giving me the larger piece. As we eat, Coty turns to Pollux. "What's the quickest way out of these tunnels?" He asks between bites.

Pollux holds up a finger and heaves himself up. He goes over to his desk and pulls out a blueprint and hastily writes something on it. He offers it to us and I take it.

They're directions to find a way out. Coty looks at the blueprints over my shoulder. I sneak a peek at him, he's smiling appreciatively.

I see on the bottom: _Be careful. Stay low_. _I can only help you two so much. _

"Thank you." Coty says.

He smiles at us and I feel heartbroken for him. He seems like such a nice, honest guy. And now he can't even say goodbye or you're welcome; the Capitol took out his tongue.

We quickly finish our meal; no time to waste. We wrap me up one last time and I notice the wrappings we toss are much less gruesome. Pollux packs the gauze and gel into Coty's backpack along with some beef strips and four bottles of water. As I watch I realize I've already lost two backpacks on this trip and I shake my head, sighing.

_Sorry, it's all I have to give you. _He scribbles on his notepad and shows us, I shake my head and smile sadly.

"This is more than we could have asked for. Thank you, for everything Pollux." I say and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his scruffy cheek, he beams at me and once again writes us a note.

_Good luck, you two. I really hope you make it._

"We do too. And we really appreciate everything." Coty says as Pollux opens a trapdoor in the ceiling for us, he gives us both a lift into it.

With one last look at him, the trapdoor closes and we're engulfed in darkness.

. . .

The atmosphere in here isn't as damp but it makes my hair stand on end. We turn on our flashlights and I realize why. Tangles and tangles of wires are strewn about the place, surrounding panels with flashing red lights. Every now and then a stray spark flies into the air. We have to watch where we're going as we make our way down the narrow hall, which isn't tall enough for us to stand all the way up.

Something scurries next to me and I yelp, the sound shatters the silence and Coty closes his hand down on my mouth. "It's just a normal rat." He whispers, "Look." He shines a light down the room and I look in time to see the tail of a rat slide away. It wasn't big enough to be a mutt rat, but that doesn't stop me from shuddering.

"I _hate _rats." I whisper as he lets my mouth go.

"I think that's acceptable." Coty chuckles quietly.

We have to be a lot quieter up here, because now we're under houses and public places. If someone hears a high-pitched scream underneath their carpet they're going to report it.

The directions tell us to look for another door, a small red one. When we find it I pray that it'll be another tall tunnel. But as I scramble through I curse myself, the ceiling is so low now we have to crawl again. I hear Coty groan in frustration behind me.

"I'm going to have a permanent hunch after this." He says and I laugh. I'm surprised by the strange sound coming out of my mouth; It's been so long since I've actually laughed. I wonder how long exactly…

"Coty? What time is it?" I ask him as we shuffle along in the dark.

He pauses to check the time on his watch, "11:22 AM." He says.

I blink, It's almost my fourth period class. It's so weird to think about the fact that everyone is sitting in class, listening to Mr. Drubler drone on about political science while I'm on my hands and knees crawling to my escape.

I wonder what people think of my absence, what my friends are thinking, or if they're even worried. My friend Claire and I had a project due sixth hour, oops. She'll be mad. I hope she understands that I'm running for my life with my last living loved one in the tunnels underneath the city that are infested with flesh-eating rats.

I bite my lip, my mood has quickly dropped. I'll never see Claire or Acelynn or any of my friends again. I hope Acelynn passes her Chem test today, I hope Claire ends up with Jer, I hope they both live long and happy lives. I push thoughts of home from my head and I bring myself back to the present.

Soon we make it to the end of the tunnel. It stops suddenly; a dead end with a ladder. "I should go first," Coty whispers behind me, "Just in case someone's waiting for us up there."

"No!" I cry, "Wait. Maybe there's another way up." I plead with him but he shakes his head.

"I'm just being cautious." He says and I know I'm being silly. But I've lost so many people I can't imagine losing him.

"You go I go." I whisper and he smiles sadly and nods. I follow him up the ladder.

"Here we are." He says and I hear a metallic crank. Light floods the tunnel, but so does a roaring noise. My heart beat quickens at the light, are we free of these retched tunnels?

He pulls me up into a huge room; the light that gave me hope of sunlight is just another powerful fluorescent. The roaring sound comes from the many large machines around us, I cover my ears. It's a lot louder in the room.

"What now?" I try to shout over the sound, he can't cover his ears as he's holding our directions. He reads them closely.

"This is just below the Capitol train station!" He says and my eyebrows shoot up. We're really going to do it.

We're really going to go to District 13!

"We have to be really careful from now on!" He says and crosses over to a rack full of full bodied worker suits. They have masks and everything. He hands one to me and my hands drop suddenly underneath the unexpected weight. I pull the heavy rubber feeling suit up after I get my feet situated in the boots. I tie my dark red hair up and put on the hat. After I'm all geared up I feel about 20 pounds heavier, I turn to Coty and strike a pose.

"How do I look?" I ask and shake my hips, he laughs underneath his mask. "Like a short, flamboyant worker." He says and I laugh too. I pull on my mask and we leave the room out into a hall. The fluorescents are flickering and we walk quickly and quietly.

We slow down when a couple of other workers pass by, they talk quietly but don't look our way. I breathe out and Coty laughs at my nervousness. "We're unrecognizable." He says and I want to tell him to shut up.

"We're looking for the door to the main boarding room." Coty says, muffled underneath his mask.

"How exactly are we supposed to find that?" I ask.

"Uh, ask for directions?"

"You really have no idea, do you?" I groan.

"Not one." He admits.

"Lovely." I say as we head down the hallway.

* * *

><p><strong>Oops, the first time I uploaded this it was the un-edited version. But this is the real version, sorry if there was any confusion.<strong>

**There probably wasn't, but review! Let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Doesn't it say anything on the directions?" I ask Coty, snatching the blueprints away from him. We've been wandering around these hallways for almost a half an hour; My patience is wearing thin.

"No. It doesn't say anything about this place." Coty sighs as I look the quickly scrawled words over for the third time.

"As much of a big help Pollux was I still wish he knew his way around here." I groan and give Coty the directions back. My mask is making me claustrophobic and I'm tempted to whip it off and throw it on the ground.

"Yeah. I know." He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. We hear the clicks of heels ahead of us and we both freeze.

A woman with her hair pulled back in a tight, grey bun rounds the corner in front of us. Her violet eyes narrow when she spots us. I'm thankful that we kept our masks on as she approaches us. She looks like a hawk with her watchful eyes and curved nose.

"You two," She snaps, "You're not supposed to be on this level." We stand side by side, frozen.

"Well?" She taps her toe and I can't speak, I don't know what to say. I see Coty motion something next to me. The woman watches Coty and after a moment she seems to realize something.

"I didn't know we were hiring Avoxes now." She looks at us suspiciously but I nod desperately.

"Very well, take the construction elevator down to the basement, you'll be put to work there." She barks at us and we both nod, "And if I catch you two wandering around again I'll report you." She turns on her heel and clicks away, answering her cell for no doubt a very important business call.

We hold our breath until her footsteps disappear behind us. We both burst out laughing.

"She looked like she swallowed something sour." Coty laughs.

"Either that or her bun was just a little tight."

"I thought for sure we were gonna have to knock her out and stash her in some broom closet." Coty says.

"We really should avoid that," I say, thinking of the consequences, "Wouldn't want an alarm raised here for strange activity."

"Then should we actually go down to the basement?" Coty looks toward the elevator.

"I don't think so. It'd be a waste of time." I say, "We should just find the boarding room."

"Right." Coty nods.

We don't find the boarding room door but we do find another one labeled "TECH". It looks promising so we push into it. Thank whoever is making this run okay, because no one is in there.

It's filled with file cabinets and computers. Coty walks over to a computer and pulls off his gloves and his mask, computers are something he can work with. He was advanced in all of our computer classes and he sometimes helped work on them after school with the teachers.

His eyes hungrily search the screen while I watch him, he looks so focused. There are times and numbers that mean nothing to me, but they seem to make sense to him.

He clicks on a link and I see D12 in the top right column. He nods to himself and goes back to the main screen, making sure everything is in the same spot.

"The train leaves for District 12 in 20 minutes." He informs me and I nod. He puts on his mask and gloves, we shut the door.

We hurry down the hallway, hoping we don't get seen again. When we find the boarding room I let out a relieved breath.

We're _so close_.

So close to getting out of this forsaken city. So close to finally escaping the people who took my parent's life, along with Coty's parents and so many other lives.

This is the most difficult part of the plan: Board the train without being seen. Which will be pretty difficult in our bulky worker outfits.

"Wait." I stop him from opening the door.

"What?"

"Won't somebody notice if two workers who are supposed to be working in the basement are stowing away on the train?" I pull him away from the door.

"Ohhh, yeah. This could be problematic." Coty pulls his rubber suit away from his stomach, it flops back.

"Lets find something else to wear."

. . .

"Sorry about this," I look at the nametag on the plain full bodied suit, "Moira. Looks like this is my uniform now."

"Mine belonged to someone named.." Coty squints at his nametag, "Edan."

They look very similar to the navy blue uniforms that the janitors at my old school wore. We're in the break room, so we have to hurry before Moira or Edan any of their friends come in and see us.

We throw the old uniforms down a chute that goes to an incinerator for garbage; _Wouldn't want to pollute the planet, that would just be morally wrong_. I snort and slip on the navy blue uniform, Coty is turned away and putting his on too.

"This feels much better than the heavy rubber and full-faced mask." Coty comments after we're both suited up and ready to go. He's right, the light material feels great compared to what we've been wearing for the past hour. We both attach the heavy tool belts around our waists and load them with wrenches and screwdrivers and other tools I don't know.

I tie my hair up and smear some grease from some of the tools on my face, Coty does the same. We look pretty convincing; I just hope it's enough.

. . .

I wonder how long I can hold my breath for. Probably no longer than a minute. So why am I holding my breath as we make our way across the huge boarding station? Coty nudges me with his elbow and I let out the air I was holding in. I wouldn't want to collapse right before we make it to the huge steaming train.

It's absolutely towering, much bigger than we anticipated. The front of it is pointed and rounded; it reminds me of a bullet.

There are workers and people bustling about the place. Carrying tools and cargo, talking into ear pieces, checking the train for anything wrong. But none of them are passengers, no one ever rides the train.

No one is ever allowed to leave the Capitol. We try to look as inconspicuous as possible, walking with purpose toward the train. It's kind of hard with Coty's backpack still attached to his back.

"Where do we get in?" I ask under my breath, turning my head towards Coty.

He surveys the train, up and down the length of the sleek, black shell. "There." He points to a staircase right next to the caboose. We make our way over to it and climb down the metal stairs, trying not to clank our shoes. Which is pointless because the underneath is full of clanking already.

The narrow hall goes the whole length of the train and we realize that it's a working area for the engineers. It's obviously for complete access to the train's underneath.

There are some gruff looking workers around, working on the train. I just hope that they're too preoccupied with their work to notice two teenagers slinking around, trying to find a way in. Thankfully the poor lighting, the loud banging and hissing noises, and the steam pouring out of the pipes make it difficult to see and hear.

I feel Coty's hand find it's way into mine and he pulls me down the noisy, sweaty hall. We walk briskly, avoiding the tired, angry looking engineers. A whistle shrieks and we both turn our heads, the workers are shuffling out. One by one they disappear, leaving the long work floor feeling eerily empty. The hissing of the train above us is the only only noise filling the work floor now.

"I wonder where they're going." I whisper.

"Probably going for their break." Says Coty.

We find a trailer in one area of the train and we open the large steel panel in the bottom. We look up through the hole and see a large, cargo filled trailer.

"It's now or never." I say and look at Coty. He nods, determination burning in his eyes.

Now is our chance.

Coty throws the backpack full of supplies and food up into the trailer and we hear it land with a thunk. He gets down and links his two hands together for me to step onto to hoist myself up into the cabin.

I'm almost all the way in when the train jerks forward and the whole work floor shakes, another whistle blows. I panic that the train will start moving, we both freeze. But it doesn't, it must be close to departing though.

"Hey! You two! You're not supposed to be down here now!" We hear down the hall and Coty practically throws me up into the cabin. I ignore the searing pain I feel from my wounds as they're jostled around and I look down through the hole. I see Coty trying to find a footing to climb up and I reach my hand down to help him.

"Woah! It's dangerous! Seriously you need to get out of here!" The voice calls angrily again.

When we don't obey the man I hear his footsteps quicken toward us, "The train will be leaving soon! I'm going to report you right now unless you get out of there!"

"Coty just get up here now. Let's lock us in. Maybe we can still make it." I whisper desperately.

He doesn't seem to hear me. Fear grips me as I see a dark shadow take over Coty's face; He looks about ready to kill. He jumps back down, fists clenched at his side.

"You won't report us." Coty says, shoulders squared.

"Coty. Let's go!" I hiss, "Forget him!"

"Oh, a couple of stowaways." The man says mockingly, " I'm going to report you now for sure, and nothing can stop me." I hear a challenge in the older man's voice. Oh no.

"If he tells he'll ruin everything." Coty states simply and picks up a large pipe, I fumble to get back down onto the floor to stop him.

I don't know how far he's willing to go to silence this man and I want to stop him before he regrets something.

"NO! Lavinia you stay up there!" He roars at me and I blink, I've never heard him sound this way toward me. I don't understand what's going through his mind.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." The man's voice comes back, directly below me now. He cracks his knuckles.

Coty swings his pipe at the mans head but the man blocks it with his beefy arm. He launches himself at Coty, knocking them both out of my view.

"Coty!" I try to yell over the angry curses below me. I'm too terrified to try to go back down, but it's not just the man I'm afraid of. I'm also afraid of Coty; I've never seen him like this and it scares me.

I hear them fighting and I strain my neck outside of the hole. I can't see it. More curses and grunts ring out. I bring myself back into the trailer, squeezing my eyes shut tight.

I hear a final metallic thunk of a pipe hitting flesh and then silence. My breathing quickens. Did Coty win? A dragging sound follows, a door slams shut. Or was he taken out by the engineer?

Heavy footsteps make their way slowly toward the trailer. I push away from the opening, I squeeze in between two metal cargo containers, imagining my skull being smashed in by the crazed engineer. With each step I back up further between the two metal container walls, shuddering.

"Coty?" I call out shakily. There's no answer.

The bloody pipe lands itself on the floor in front of the cargo and I shriek, flinching away from it.

Oh no, Coty _did_ lose. This is it. I'm going to be brutally murdered in a dark, cold, cargo trailer.

I'm about to completely lose it when Coty heaves himself through the hole and collapses onto the steel floor, my terror melts away and relief floods through me. I squeeze out of my hiding spot scramble toward him. I pull him the rest of the way in; His face is covered in blood and he's breathing heavily.

I shakily cradle his head in my lap, thankful he's alive.

"I had to do that." Coty mumbles, still breathing heavily. "I couldn't let him give us away. I'm sorry." Tears fill my eyes and I shake my head, my lips quivering.

"No. No. It's fine." I smooth his hair away from his face and try to push the thoughts of the fight from my head, "You had to. You don't need to apologize."

The train whistles and it jerks forward once more, but this time the cabin begins to rumble and I can feel us moving forward.

"What happened to him?" I ask.

"He's not dead. I don't think." Coty reaches a hand up and puts it against his forehead, as if fighting a headache "When I put him in the closet his heart was beating."

I shouldn't be so relieved to hear that he's alive but I am, I release my breath. Coty didn't kill him. I feel the train jerk a little and I remember that we're starting to move.

We're picking up speed at a rapid rate. A slight wind fills the trailer and I blink, looking for the source of the wind. And then I see it: the door!

The door is still open! I crawl over to it and reach down, trying to pull it up. There's no use, it's too heavy and the wind is pushing it back down. Another dose of panic rushes through me as I realize something: if this door is taken off, we could get sucked out of the train at the high speeds it reaches.

"Coty! Help me!" I call frantically, desperately trying to heave the heavy steel panel closed. The floor is passing below us faster now, we'll be out of the station soon. My red hair whips around me and I'm afraid if I reach down too far I'll fall.

My torso is almost hanging all the way out when I feel strong arms encircle my waist, preventing me from falling. "I've got you! Get a good grip on it and pull on three!" I hear Coty's voice behind me, I grip the handle with all my strength.

"One! Two!" The floor below me is just a blur.

"Three!" We both say and heave the panel closed with a thud. We've closed it just in time, the slits lining the trailer walls let in sunlight. I collapse to the floor with Coty, my arms like jelly.

I shakily sit myself up, trying to smooth my tangled hair down. He sits up too, breathing heavily. We just look at each other; I search his blue eyes, relieved the Coty I know and love is back.

"Well, that's enough adventure for one day, don't you think?" I ask him and he nods numbly.

We lie back down, feeling the train rumble beneath us. My hand finds Coty's and we lie there, holding hands tightly. We've done it. We're on our way to District 13.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to girl meat and Tag Rrhoman for reviewing! <strong>

**So, constructive criticism? Don't be afraid to point out mistakes!_ Review it._**

**Don't be afraid. Trust me. _Shhh_ just trust me. The review button is _right beneath me_.**

_** Trust me.**_


	6. Chapter 6

"Would you rather fall into a pit of snakes? Or... have spiders crawl all over you?" Coty asks me as I pull my legs up to my chest and rest my chin on my knees. I think about it; Snakes aren't all creepy crawly but they're venomous. I pass the water bottle I was drinking from to Coty, he drinks in small sips.

"Depends.." I say, "Will the snakes bite me?"

"Nope." Coty shakes his head and rubs his hands together to create heat.

"Snakes then. Spiders are just..." I shudder, "Scary with their eight legs and their creepy crawliness."

Coty laughs, "Creepy crawliness?"

I laugh too. We've been riding the train for at least two hours. We've been doing anything to avoid thinking of our families. It's also becoming a bit chilly, I bring my jacket out from the backpack and put it on.

"Your turn." Coty nudges me.

"Would you rather be able to go back in time? Or have super strength?" I ask, zipping my jacket up over my jumpsuit.

Coty is silent for a while but then answers me, "Back in time. So I could save our parents."

I wince, _Oops_. Looks like I just brought up the painful subject we were avoiding.

"I agree." I sigh shakily and we sit, listening to the train vibrate underneath us. I think how funny it is that these super modern trains still get some sort of friction even though these don't have wheels, they actually hover/glide along. It's going to make getting out and in a problem.

"I wonder how far we are now." Coty breaks the silence.

"I don't know, but I hope they stop the train for a bit to gas up or whatever." I rock back and forth, "I really have to pee."

"They probably will." Coty says. I'd love being so close to him if it weren't for the circumstances that we've been in.

"Would you rather be back at school being brainwashed? Or be on this train on the way to District 13?" He asks me.

I have to think about it:

I would be back home, with my friends and parents, but I'd still be under constant threat that I would never know about. Ever since this trip I've learned and matured so much, I remember just two days ago I was complaining about not having a cell phone. I want to throttle my old self for being so stupid.

If only she knew what I know now. I sigh and put my head on Coty's shoulder. He and I could actually be something.

We could be together.

He makes me feel so safe, even in this situation. Without what we've experienced I never would have considered us to be together.

"I'd rather be here. With you." I say truthfully and I feel my face blush. "But of course I wish our parents were here, too."

Coty is silent, I wonder if I said the wrong thing. Does he think I'm horrible? The fact that I'd choose this fate over a safe, meaningless one?

I lift my head from his shoulder and I turn to face him. "Is that bad?" I ask, searching his eyes.

"Of course it's bad. It's wrong and terrible." He says and I feel my face fall, "But I feel the same way. I wish we weren't in this situation. But I would choose loving you over my warm bed any day." He finishes and I gape at him.

I'm speechless. How do I reply to that? He basically told me he loved me.

In response I just stand up wordlessly, pulling him up with me. I search his eyes and he searches mine in return.

Before I can think twice I stand on my tip-toes and press my lips to his. He's surprised at first but he responds, wrapping his arms around me. It's a warm, curious kiss but it still makes my heart thump wildly in my chest.

This is Coty. The boy I took baths with when I was a toddler. The boy who stood up for me on the playground when some bullies kicked sand in my lunch. The boy who's parents were murdered just like mine…

I feel something I've never felt about a boy; I feel like I can spend my whole life with him, he's been in my life as long as I can remember and I know I can easily stay with him until I can't remember anymore.

We pull apart, both of us breathless. Coty leans his forehead against mine.

"I love you, too." I whisper.

. . .

The train finally comes to a complete stop and by that time I'm jumping up and down inside our cabin. I can't tell if it's from really really needing to pee or if it's from the kiss. I'm so happy. Coty watches me, amused.

"Don't you have to go?" I ask, hopping from foot to foot.

"Not as badly as you do. I went in the break room, it had a bathroom in the back." Coty shrugs and I narrow my eyes at him.

"And why didn't you ask me if I had to go?" I snap.

Coty holds his hands up, "Hey I did. You were busy finding the uniforms and you mumbled something about 'not having to go'."

"Fine. Whatever," I laugh. "Can we please go out now?"

"Yeah. I'm sure we've waited long enough."

. . .

"Just don't look!" I cry and dash down the steep hill, feeling as though I'm about to explode. The crisp air feels great compared to the stuffy atmosphere of the trailer. I know I should probably keep quiet but the engine is so far from our trailer I'm not really worried.

I hurry into the woods, listening to the leaves shuffle beneath me. The leaves are falling, that means it's autumn. This could be problematic while we're walking the rest of the distance to District 13. I'm very temperature sensitive and being in the cold for too long will get me really sick.

I'm still not entirely convinced District 13 still exists, but Coty believes it does and I'm trusting him.

"Just stay close to where I can see you!" I hear Coty shout behind me, worry evident in his voice.

"That's looking!" I yell back and roll my eyes, I'm a big girl. I keep moving further to find a decent coverage to do my business.

I finally find a good bush, I haven't had to pee in the wild in a long time. The last time was back when my family used to camp outside of the city. Even then going outside was frowned upon, since most families brought "portable toilets" my dad would snort and shake his head. We never brought portable toilets. We roughed it like people in the districts sometimes do. At least that's what my parents tell me they do.

Told. Past tense. I almost forgot that they're dead.

After I do my business I feel a hundred times better and I hear the train steam in the distance. Panicked, I race back to the train.

"Hurry Lavinia!" Coty shouts and I climb up the hill, "Feel better?" He smirks when I'm all the way up.

"Loads." I comment and kiss him on the cheek. He grins. We both crawl underneath the train to climb back into our little trailer.

"Look's like we're back on _track_." Coty says and waggles his eyebrows as he shuts the panel.

"Budum tss." I say and we both laugh, but the laughter soon dies out. We're not out of the water yet. We get settled against the wall in our usual spot as the train jerks beneath us and we feel it glide ahead.

My thoughts wander to our kiss, I almost feel like it didn't happen. It seems too good to be true. Does this mean we're dating now? Like boyfriend girlfriend?

He holds out his hand for me, I place mine on top of his, comparing fingers. His are longer than mine; he could probably play guitar if he set his mind to learning it. Mine are porcelain white against his sun-kissed hands. As I'm studying our fingers I look at my pinky and it reminds me of something… I still have my mp3 mod! I still have the little chip in my skin behind my ear that holds music!

I gasp out loud, Coty looks at me.

"What?"

".. I still have this mp3 mod I had installed." I can't believe it. I still have something from home. I still have something to remind me of my life there, of my parents. My throat catches and my eyes sting. "I can listen to _music_." I choke out.

"What is that bad? Can they find us?" Coty asks me frantically, confused with my expression. I shake my head and try to blink away the tears, but they fall anyway. I program it to listen to one of my favorite songs.

"No.. It's just that. I forgot and I'm just so happy to still have it." I explain in a shaky voice.

My tears stream freely now, the sweet guitar fills my head and I think of everything we're leaving behind. My whole life. Every friendship I've ever made. The somber lyrics float out and I close my eyes.

_I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said, I'll never let you go_

The artist really went out on a limb with this song, it wasn't like the bubble pop that filled many chart-topping albums. It really had lyrics that meant something, it had a twang to it that really made me feel sad and happy at the same time. I'm sure she got in trouble with the government with these lyrics.

"I really really wish you could listen too." I say, opening my eyes again. I feel ashamed for hogging the music all to myself.

Coty is silent for a while, just studying me. "No I think watching you listen to it is just enough." I smile sadly and put my head on his chest, he brushes my bangs out of my face.

_Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be alright_

_No one can hurt you now_

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_

I think of how strangely relevant this song is now; I thought it was sweet before, but now I can really relate to it. With Coty I feel so safe and sound. I want to him to hear too, but it really is impossible. I sigh and just listen to the music.

_Don't you dare look out your window darling_

_Everything's on fire_

_The war outside our door keeps raging on_

_Hold onto this lullaby_

_Even when the music's gone_

It's amazing what finding this little remnant of my home has done for me, my heart is breaking. I wish I hadn't bottled up my feelings like I had, maybe the pain would have been less. Probably not.

But as Coty's rhythmic breathing gently moves my head up and down and his thumb absentmindedly brushes my bangs away from my face my tears gradually stop. I don't feel petrified like I did the other night. I'm accepting the situation I'm in, and I'm accepting what could happen to me.

_Just close your eyes_

_The sun is going down_

_You'll be alright_

_No one can hurt you now_

My eyes drift up to the slits in the top of the trailer, the sun light seeping in is now a golden red. Night will fall soon.

"We should get some sleep soon." I say, watching Coty yawn right on cue. "It's been at least a day since we last had a real sleep."

Coty nods and rubs his eyes. With how I was knocked unconscious for a good 4 hours he really has gotten less sleep than I have.

I sit up, "You should sleep first." Deciding it's better if one of us is awake just in case the engineers makes a midnight trailer inspection.

Coty looks relieved but still seems hesitant, "You sure? I wouldn't mind."

"I'm positive. I'll wake you up when it's your turn." I say and smile, Coty nods appreciatively and brings out a tightly rolled-up sleeping bag I didn't know we had. How many things can fit in that backpack?

"Goodnight."

"Don't forget to wake me up," Coty mumbles sleepily.

"I promise I won't."

_Come morning light_

_You and I'll be safe and sound_


	7. Chapter 7

Moonlight peaks in through the slits in the trailer, which are also letting in the bitter cold. I wrap my jacket tighter around me and shiver, cursing myself for not bringing a heavier one.

Even with my music quietly playing, the lack of sound is unnerving. In the Capitol there's always sound; the sound of people partying and music going and cars honking. I don't even have to look outside to know that there's nothing out there but miles and miles of silent nature.

Coty is sound asleep to the side of me, he's turned away and snoring softly. I hope he's having nice, peaceful dreams. If anyone deserves them it's him.

I wonder where we are. Surely somewhere near District 11. Our first stop was near District two. I'm almost positive that we'll stop soon at six; It makes sense to stop there for fuel and a rest, since six is the district for transportation.

I turn my music down all the way and search the backpack for the food. I take inventory.

There's still a whole pack of dried beef strips, at least a gallon of water, some protein/granola bars, and a few slices of stale bread in a plastic bag. Panic and realization hit me in the gut. How are we going to live off this for the next few weeks?

This will last us at most a week, but that's not nearly long enough. We'll need to find food and water. I unzip the pocket with a red cross in the middle and dig around, finding your generic band-aids, gauze, and antiseptics. Thankfully there are some guides and small booklets on fishing, hunting, and finding edible plants and berries. But that still doesn't ease my worries: Neither of us have ever been outdoors for extended periods of time.

It will be pretty difficult to find our way and survive at the same time. I suddenly wonder how we'll actually get to District 13.

Are we just going to stumble around the wilderness until we find the smoldering remains? My eyes feel heavy as I put everything back and zip the pack back up. I'll worry about that when we're actually on our way. I look over at Coty, pondering if I should wake him up. Probably. It's been at least five hours, he said to wake him up in three.

"Coty?" I lean over him and put my palm on his cheek, just like I did the other night, he's blissfully warm. He stirs and mumbles something that sounds like, "Five more minutes." I can't help but grin.

"Coty it's your turn to watch." I say, loud enough for him to wake completely up. He sits up groggily, eyes still half shut. I push back my laughter at the sight of his face. The side that was against the sleeping bag now has red imprints of the material he was lying on. His hair is sticking up too, as if someone had hair sprayed it while he was sleeping.

"Already?" He asks, rubbing his eyes and checking the time on his wristwatch, it's one in the morning.

I hand him the water bottle and wince as he guzzles the liquid down, I should really talk to him about conserving water. "You slept for five hours." I say, trying to keep my mind off of our rapidly decreasing resources.

Coty's head snaps up to look at me, "'Nia! That wasn't the amount of time we agreed on." Coty groans, handing me back the bottle, "Now I feel bad."

"I'm sorry but you needed those extra hours." I shrug my shoulders and try to stifle my yawn.

"See? Now you're exhausted." Coty rolls his eyes and climbs out of the sleeping back, stretching out. I hear his bones popping and I'm reminded of Pollux. I wonder how our silent friend is doing.

"I've never missed my bed so much." He comments as I slide into the sleeping bag, toasty warm. Coty's warmth. I pull my hood up and lie down on my side, facing him.

"We need to talk about conserving food and water." I say, trying to be firm with him.

"How about when you're fully conscious?" Coty chuckles at my attempt at keeping my eyes open.

"Fine. But don't go eating all the food." I mumble and close my eyes.

"You know I won't." Coty says and I'm not worried. I trust him.

My thoughts drift to Saffron and my mom. To Len and my dad. To the Markhams and their fate. To the blood curdling screams and the bangs and the blood shining on my porch wall.

I squeeze my eyes shut tighter, trying not to cry. I eventually fall into a nightmare filled sleep.

. . .

Just my luck when I'm waken up in the morning it's not because it's my turn to watch, it's because the train is stopped and people are walking around outside, talking loudly.

"Lavinia." I hear Coty hiss as I'm shaken awake. I bring myself to present time, pulling myself from slumber.

"What's happening?" I ask, suddenly awake at the sight of Coty quietly and frantically packing everything up. He even grabs a large hammer from the tool belts we discarded to the floor. He drops a long screw driver into my upturned palms once I'm out of the sleeping bag.

"There are engineers checking the trailers ahead of us." Coty whispers as quietly as he can, "I heard them talking; They've received a report of possible stowaways on the train. Although they seem to not be worried about it." I gasp at the news and my hands clench around the screwdriver, but not because I want to use it; I just don't want it rolling off my open palms and clattering loudly to the floor.

"The man you put in the closet then?" I ask, sticking the screwdriver, handle out, into the pocket of the navy jumpsuit. I roll up the sleeping bag and I listen to the men slowly making their way toward our trailer, they're a few trailers away.

"Yes. I imagine he's told them everything now." Coty whispers and zips his jacket up all the way, securing the backpack on his shoulders after I stuff the sleeping bag into it.

"What are we going to do?" I ask, frightened by the sound of the men rolling the large trailer doors open. I look to Coty's watch, it's 4:30 AM. No wonder I feel like I got 3 hours of sleep. I did.

"Well, we should be right outside of district 12 by now." Coty whispers, "Based on how long we've been riding."

"So, if we can just get out here and make a run for it, we'll be good," He continues and my hands feel clammy.

"How do we get passed the two men?" I whisper back, trying not to let fear leak into my voice.

"We'll knock them out." Coty says, clenching his fists, we both look at the large doors on the walls that will soon open. One on each side. Realization hits me again, _oh no. _Two doors.

"Coty, there's no way I can knock a grown man out." I whisper fearfully, pleading to him. "I don't have the physical or mental capability to do that."

Coty, startling me, turns to me and grabs both of my arms. He looks into my eyes with a burning intensity, "If you don't, they _will _report us and we'll both be sent back to the Capitol."

I try to imagine myself jumping out of the trailer and launching myself at the poor guy. I don't know if I can do it.

"What.. What if I just.. Hold him down? You know, until you can knock him out?" I stammer and Coty shakes his head.

"You barely weigh 125 pounds. You couldn't hold him down long enough." He explains. The men are approaching quickly, we have to make a decision now.

"Okay. Okay. But with what? I can't knock him out with a screwdriver! That'd just stab him." I say and he finally lets me go and searches for the tool belt, he pulls out a big, heavy looking wrench.

"Use this." He says and hand it to me. I nod shakily and grip it in my clammy hands. I feel as though my chest is empty, my heart and organs replaced with a bitter wind.

"Nia we have this one shot. If we can keep them unconscious long enough, we can be far enough into the forest that no one can find us by the time they send a message back." He says and I know that I can't screw up.

The voices are one trailer away, joking and laughing, searching in the trailer. I hear the large cargo containers opened and searched.

We both look at each other, breathing heavily in fear and excitement. Coty bends down and our lips are crushed together in a fervent kiss, my arms wrap around his neck and I'm lifted from the ground. As soon as it starts it stops, he places me back on the floor, leaving me even more breathless than before.

He gives me a crooked grin and I feel my face burn. We turn to our trailer doors, preparing for them to slide open. I take deep breaths and I try to imagine that this isn't a person I'm about to smash my wrench into. I really hope I don't kill him.

I really _really _hope I don't kill him.

Even though I'm expecting it, it still makes me jump me as the door in front of me rolls open, revealing a very surprised, skinny man with a mustache. I don't think twice. I launch myself at him, both of us rolling down the hill. I feel my hand find his hair as we're tumbling down, I grip tightly. He tries to pry himself away from me but it's no use, I've got an iron grip.

"Jerem! Help!" He shouts desperately, trying to fight me off once we're at the bottom. I'm on top of him, my legs holding his arms pinned to the ground. I close my eyes and grip my wrench with two hands. I hit him in the side of the head before I have a chance to think twice.

And just like that, he stops struggling and goes quiet. I scramble off of him and hear the shuffling of leaves and grunts on the other side of the train. Coty still must be fighting them.

"Grant! Call for help! They _are_ in the train!" I gulp as I hear the other engineer struggling for control.

Before I rush to Coty's aid I look down at the man I had knocked out; His glasses are askew and his ear is bleeding. I crawl over to him and press my ear against his chest. I hear a heartbeat and relief flows through me. I swallow and let myself breath, slumped forward. He's okay, but another shout brings me back to the fact that we aren't yet.

It's eerily quiet as I quickly rush up to the train, the sounds of struggle have ceased. I crawl through the trailer over to the other side. I'm shocked at what I see, Coty is on his knees looking down at the motionless man. I automatically know something's wrong.

"Coty?" I call out and slide down the steep hill of grass and leaves. He doesn't look up at me as I approach. A cold chill runs through me.

My heart falls into my stomach as I walk closer to him and I see blood.

"What.. What did you do?" I ask him and tears pool in my eyes. The man has a profusely bleeding head wound, his eyes are staring up at the brightening morning sky. Although his eyes are open I know he can't see, because the blow to his head is too deep.

"He's dead." Coty chokes out and puts his head in his bloody hands, "He had his transmitter and was about to call for help, I couldn't let that happen." I see the hammer nestled in the grass next to the man's head and I feel nauseas.

Coty. He rammed that hammer into the conductor's head.

Acid fills my throat and I turn away, losing my measly dinner in the grass. Once I stop retching I wipe a shaky hand over my mouth. I try to push the image of the hole in the poor man's skull from my head.

I retrieve the backpack from a few feet away and I try to be strong, taking a deep breath. I walk over to Coty and kneel by him, tenderly putting my hand on his back.

"Coty, we can't save him. We have to go." I say and gently pull his hands from his face. He looks at me, tears streaming down his face, "You did what you had to do." I say, willing my voice to stay even. The look he gives me breaks my heart.

Coty nods weakly and wipes at his eyes. I reach around him and with shaking fingers I close the dead man's eyes. It's my first time touching someone who's dead and I withdraw immediately, afraid that his eyes might snap back open.

But they don't. And he could almost be sleeping, if it wasn't for the gaping hole in his head.

"Go take the transmitter and other equipment away from the other one." Coty says, a guarded look on his face. "Throw them in the woods somewhere, so it will be harder to notify the authorities."

I nod and walk away from him, I can tell he needs time alone. I make my way down to the other man. Grant? I think I heard that his name is Grant.

I pull his transmitter, cellphone, and some other device I don't know off of his belt. I cradle them in my arms and throw them into the woods in different directions. I wonder how much time we have. The birds have begun to sing, I notice.

With the backpack strapped on tightly I make my way over to Coty, he's sitting on the side of the trailer, his feet dangling. His shoulders are slumped down and his sandy hair even seems to lack it's usual volume and ruffled quality.

"Ready to go?" I gently ask, climbing into the trailer too. He stands up and nods, studying something in his hand.

"What's that?" I point to the device.

"It's a GPS. It will help us find our way to District 13. I originally had some maps but they're a bit hard to decipher." He shows it to me and I see it's the same weird gadget I threw into the woods.

"Are you sure?" I eye the small, round object. It reminds me of a compass, but it's larger and has a square screen that shows us the aerial view of where we are. There's a little number pad at the bottom next to some arrows.

"Yes. My dad has.. _Had_ one just like this." Coty says and I don't ask anymore questions. We quickly head down the hill and into the forest, following the little arrow he had programmed to point to the coordinates of District 13.

We walk away from the steaming train, away from the two conductors on the ground. They're both asleep, although one will never wake up. I wonder if there's anything after life, and I wonder if the conductor is giving Coty's parents a hard time. I desperately wish that if there is an afterlife, that they can't see us. _Or what we've done. _

I look at Coty's dirt smudged face and I wonder how he'll hold up; I know he's strong but he cant be that strong.

Hell, even I'm not that strong. Tears are flowing down my cheeks again and I didn't even kill the guy.

We trek into the forest, the sun gradually rising and giving the sky a warm orange glow. But when I see the clouds that are stretched across the sky I swallow.

The clouds are outlined in blood.


	8. Chapter 8

Coty and I haven't said too much in the past 4 hours; In fact, we haven't said anything at all. He walks with his head down, his shoulders slumped. I feel bad but I'm barely paying attention to him. I would be more worried if I wasn't so preoccupied with studying the wonderful nature all around us.

I'm drinking it in: the forest...all of its smells and tastes and sounds. I marvel at how we can keep walking and walking for miles without hearing a sound of a hovercraft humming down the street; without seeing another human being.

The wild is immense and endless; it's not a small world after all. And even though the dense foliage surrounding us is beautiful, it isn't a piece of cake to walk through. Some bushes have sharp unforgiving thorns that catch on our clothes and skin, I think I've already torn through some of the bandages on my arms. I look up, the sun is all the way up in the blue sky, directly above us. I've been trying to deny it, but we're both getting too exhausted to go on. Coty breathes heavily ahead of me, looking up from the GPS to wipe the sweat from his brow and to take a drink of water. I study him, and I understand his need for silence.

He did kill someone, that's not something you can quickly get over. I look up through the pine needles and try to engrave the patterns of the sun sifting through each individual green pin in my mind. I'm trying to distract myself from the image of the bashed skull that keeps popping up in my mind.

By the time we stop for a break my lips are chapped and my head is pounding from the heat. Sweat drips down from my hairline and into the back of my shirt. Coty hands me the water and we both collapse underneath the shade of a nearby tree, exhausted beyond belief.

I drink, trying to restrain myself from gulping it down; we only have one bottle left aside from this already half-empty one.

"We need to find a water source soon." Coty says, as if reading my mind. The sound of his voice startles me, I've become accustomed to the constant sound of birds twittering happily and insects singing in the foliage.

"We do." I say, nodding. I take my hair down and pull it back up into a tighter ponytail, wishing I could pin my bangs back too; I need any kind of relief from this heat I can get. I lean back on a large root protruding from the ground.

"So, are you okay?" I ask him, wishing he would talk to me more. I need communication or I'll go insane from the silence.

"You know, I'm not, I don't think I'll ever be 100 percent okay again." Says Coty, he sounds sad and I feel a pang of guilt; He's been the one who's sacrificed so much. He's the one who is constantly getting us out of trouble, risking his sanity in the process.

We sit, listening to the symphony of the forest around us. I wonder if this is what it'd be like to be in the Hunger Games. The idea strikes me as odd, but I definitely believe that this is what the Hunger Games would be like. We've barely escaped certain doom, grabbed supplies, and now we're trekking through the wilderness, running from people who want to kill us. The thought makes me stop: kill us? Is that what they're going to do?

"Are they going to kill us?" I ask, breaking the silence. His blue eyes seem to be focused on something a million miles away.

After a while he speaks, dragging himself back to reality. "I hope not. But there's a very fair chance that they might." Says Coty, looking up through the tree branches at the blue sky, "We just can't let them catch us."

I nod in agreement, suddenly anxious to get up and moving again. I imagine the wiry conductor stumbling towards the front of the train to dial up the Capitol. They'll alert the black suited peace-keepers and we'll be as good as dead.

"Let's go. We should get to a better location before we camp, somewhere near water." I say. I may not be an survival expert, but I know that we can't go much longer without it.

"You're right." Coty says and stands up, dusting off his pants. We've almost left our resting place when I luckily glance back and notice our painfully obvious footprints. It's like we had almost created a nest of pine needles and browning leaves.

Yeah, we really wouldn't survive if this was the hunger games.

After brushing away all traces of us resting there, we make our way through the misleadingly beautiful foliage, stumbling every now and then as we trip over roots it conceals. We slowly forge forward, ignoring the countless scrapes and cuts it gives us in return. I wonder briefly if any of the plants are poisonous.

It's amazing to think that we were just sweating because the sun is sinking lower in the sky, and the temperature has been dropping significantly. Coty's nose is once again buried in his GPS system and I sigh, wishing he would talk to me.

"I'm glad that we have something to help us find our way but a little conversation on the way would be nice." I mumble without thinking about it.

"Yeah, well I'm sorry that I'm not in much of a conversational mood." Coty snaps and hurt and shame well up in my throat. I'm not accustomed to having him treat me like this. Really I'm not accustomed to anyone treating me like this.

"I'm sorry." I say heavily, trying not to let my voice waver. I'm too afraid to let him see me cry for some silly reason like being snapped at. I don't want to seem weak to him.

He stops in front of me and I stop too, stifling my sniffles. He hangs his head and rubs his eye with the palm of his hand. He sighs audibly. "No, I'm sorry." He says, "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"And I shouldn't have gotten so upset." I add, "Things have been really really difficult as of late."

Coty turns around and gives me a weak smile, "They have been. And it almost feels like this isn't worth it, but then I remember who I'm with." I smile in return, but it still feels as though there's a barrier between us. It's unseen but I can feel it. I realize that he hasn't touched me at all since this morning when we kissed. I can feel us slipping away, we're losing faith in our cause, in each other, in the rebellion.

"We have to keep going." I whisper, a feeling of helplessness washing over me. We've come so far. We're literally on the path to district 13. Yet here we are, seemingly stuck in this endless forest, miles from everyone and everything. And regardless of all this I can hear birds twittering happily around me and it makes me want to scream, how can they be so happy? Don't they know that they're only miles away from a tyrannical government that rules through intimidation? Of course not, they're birds.

I need to get out of this place before I start throwing stones at them. This forest is driving me insane.

"Let's just keep looking for water." I say, trying to hold myself together. I can't go throwing my shoes at innocent Mockingjays, he'll think I've gone crazy.

I walk passed him, ignoring the confused look he gives me. We really do need to find water, I'm starting to smell ripe and I'm in desperate need of a bath.

. . .

When we finally hear the sound of rushing water the sun is almost all the way down and my legs feel like jelly. We both stop and tilt our heads to the side, listening. We head towards the blessed sound but when we find the source the air goes out of us like balloons deflating.

The stream is ten feet below us, gurgling and reflecting the afternoon sun. I don't understand how it could be so far down, the marshy cliff we stand on seems to be miles away from it.

"It's been running for so long the water actually cut through the earth." Coty says next to me and I nod numbly, how in the world are we supposed to make it down there to get water? There's no way we could get down there and back up, the crumbling dirt walls would never give us enough purchase to climb.

"Maybe there's less of a drop if we go further down the river?" I ask, tearing my gaze away from the flowing river. I watch Coty's side profile as he stares at the water too, he seems to be thinking of a plan.

"Yeah, it's worth a shot." He nods and we start to walk along the river, the golden sun setting behind us. The discovery of the river gives us new energy and purpose; I ignore the deep ache in my joints and I imagine myself washing the gunk out my hair and scrubbing the dirt off of my skin. It's a great inspiration to keep moving.

I feel something graze up against my hand and I flinch away and look down, surprised at the unexpected contact. Coty's hand hangs limply where I had pulled away. Before I can make a move to grab it again, he pulls it back toward himself, jamming it into his pocket with obvious hurt. As I'm struggling to think of an apology, Coty speaks up, his voice wiped clean of emotion. "We can get down over there."

I look where he's pointing: the normally steep cliff is at a much more gentle incline. It shouldn't be a problem to carry water up it. I could almost cry out in relief, I race down the semi-steep bank, kick my shoes off and I'm into the cold, refreshing water. It's relatively shallow, thankfully, and it only goes up to my knees. I pull out the two empty bottles and the almost empty third one from my bag that I had the foresight to not take into the water and pop open the caps.

"Here." I say and throw one up to Coty on the riverbank. He deftly catches it in his hands, "Fill it up." I order. He wordlessly complies and gingerly wades into the current, abandoning his shoes at the bank.

I dip my hands into the freezing water along with the bottles, enjoying the numbing tingle after hours of trudging along soaked with sweat. I can feel my skin loosening up as the layers of caked on dirt flow down the river away from us. I turn the water bottle openings upstream, allowing fresh clean water to fill them. Well, I hope it's clean.

"Rivers aren't contaminated or anything are they?" I straighten out my back and turn to Coty who looks as though he is thoroughly enjoying the water. He uses the bottle to pour cool liquid onto his arms and face, attempting to clean the dirt and muck off of his body. My eyes linger a bit too long on his arms and chest, the water has soaked through his white t-shirt and the outlines of his muscles are clearly defined through the wet fabric. I look elsewhere before he can catch me staring, my face burning with embarrassment.

"They shouldn't be, the area around here looks natural enough, and I'm thinking this is all melted snow from the mountains anyway." He says after flipping the wet hair our of his face. Either he didn't notice me staring or he's pretending he didn't. I hope that it's the latter.

I turn my attention back to filling the bottles up and I close each lid with a triumphant snap. I throw them back to Coty and he puts them on the shore. Fully clothed, I submerge myself completely in the icy water and let my hair loose and I feel it fan out around me. After I've grabbed the soap that someone thankfully packed I scrub away at my hair, skin and clothes, trying to get myself clean. Coty follows suit.

After about ten minutes we both slosh out of the water, sopping wet and shivering. I immediately regret not taking my clothes off.

"We should really get a fire going," Coty says, avoiding looking at me shivering. I nod and he walks back into the cover of trees and is back shortly with an armful of sticks that he dumps in a pile at our feet.

"Matches." I say to myself as I rummage through the bag, shaking with cold. With trembling hands I find the box and hand them to him. It takes almost an hour and night falls but we manage to get a handsome fire roaring, the warmth radiating from it is enough to convince me to attempt to dry the soaking clothing I'm in. I peel off only my outermost layers and I'm left with an undershirt and the exercise shorts I wore under my pants. I drape my outer clothes over a large rock by the fire and hope they don't catch on fire while we sleep.

I can feel his surprise at my sudden indecency but I choose to act as though it was the most natural thing in the world. I quickly change the wrapping on my arms and calves, studying my wounds in the moonlight; they're completely scabbed over.

I pull the rolled up sleeping bag out and unfurl it across the rocky shore, plopping down onto it and almost sticking my hands into the fire. It's blissfully warm and Coty seems to unfreeze from gaping at me and he follows suit, stripping down to his boxers and joining me on the sleeping bag. With the trickling of the stream next to us, the crackling of the fire and the sounds of night from the woods, I can almost convince myself that I'm just on a camping trip. Almost.

My eyes grow heavy as the full force of the day's events hits me. I want to curl up next to Coty and let my eyelids slowly drift closed, the sounds of the water carrying me swiftly away from all of this.

"We should probably get some rest." He says, breaking the silence. I want to reach over and touch him so badly it aches. I'm not sure what happened to us today, but I hate this wall he's built. I've built.

"Right, who knows what could happen tomorrow." I reply. He gets up off of the sleeping bag and then puts his hands on his hips and stares down at it, as if he's just now realizing that we'll have to share it.

"We don't have to share it." I say timidly, "If you don't want to..." He thinks for a moment, the flickering flames casting moving light and shadow over his face. The odd lighting gives his already naturally handsome face a wild, rugged look.

"It's fine." He says. "It will help us conserve heat anyway. There's no way this fire will last the night."

If it were any other night my stomach would have been erupting with butterflies, but I'm too tired to feel embarrassed or excited. I wiggle into the sleeping bag, leaving room for Coty. I realize how much of a tight fit it will be and I groan. It's one thing to be half naked in front of your best friend but it's another thing to be pressed up against him in a cramped sleeping bag half naked.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" I ask, getting impatient. He doesn't move. "Well, I'm going to sleep." I say and close my eyes. After a little while I worry that he's walked away. I'm about to open my eyes when I suddenly feel the warmth of his body struggling to get into the made-for-one sleeping bag. He finally seems to get comfortable, managing to elbow me in the ribs a few times in the process. The sleeping bag would have been warm with just me, but with two people in it the heat rises to just below unbearable. _It's better this than the cold though_, I tell myself as I snuggle into him and drift toward sleep.

I'm almost gone when I hear him say my name, my eyes flutter open groggily, "What?" I mumble.

"Look at the stars." He says and I turn my gaze skyward. My breath catches at the sheer magnificent beauty of the night sky. In just the patch of night visible between trees, it looks like whole galaxies are sprawled across the sky. You can almost never see the stars in the Capitol, my dad said there was too much light pollution. In a city that never sleeps, there's never a lack of light from the countless offices, clubs, boutiques, and houses that populate the Capitol's pristine streets.

As I lay there, overwhelmed by the beauty, aching for my family to be able to see this as well, I feel Coty fall asleep beside me. His breaths become rhythmic, rising and falling with time. I put my head on his chest to listen to the reassuring beat of his heart. I feel myself falling asleep, aided by the comforting snores of my best friend. By the end of tomorrow we should be near District 12, bringing us all the closer to our terrifying, uncharted future.

I'm just so glad I have Coty to be here with me, I feel as though he is keeping me together. And as long as I have him, I feel like everything will turn out alright.

* * *

><p>We're drawing to a close, folks. The ending won't be a true surprise, if you've read the books.<p>

Thank you to Thomas, who helped me out a lot on this chapter. I was kind of having a hard time. His fanfiction account is this:

.net/u/3012754/Thallanos

So, I hope you take the time to review!


	9. Chapter 9

_This is the last chapter and my longest one, I'm really sorry it took so long!_

_Everything just kind of got in the way and to be honest I was putting it off. I'm not too fond of having to end things I enjoy._

_A HUGE thank you to Thomas. Without you I probably wouldn't have been able to finish this. You've also inspired me to become a better writer._

_And thank you to those who continually reviewed and gave me support. I love you guys!_

* * *

><p>I'm woken up to the sound of birds twittering happily in the distance, I stretch out and rub my eyes. I don't really want to leave my cocoon of warmth; I didn't nearly get enough sleep and I wish I could steal a few more hours of it.<p>

I notice that I'm able to move freely in the sleeping bag; it's so much less cramped than last night. I ponder this for a moment before realizing what it means: Coty isn't here. I shoot up and my eyes scan around our little campsite frantically, looking for him.

"Coty!" I yell. Where is he? I scramble out of the sleeping bag and ignore the feeling of sharp rocks digging into the soles of my feet.

I try again, "Coty!" My shout makes all of the birds go silent, curious as to what the strange noise came from.

"Lavinia!" I hear out in the woods and I immediately dart toward his voice, my heart pounding. Is he taken captive? Have they found us? Was he dragged away by some big bear or mountain lion?

"Coty, where are you!" I stop and turn around in circles, trying to locate him but I only see the dense foliage that I was admiring not ten hours ago. Hands grab my arms from behind me and I scream, tearing myself from the attacker's grasp and flailing forward. I try to run but they grab me again and turn me around. I squeeze my eyes shut, struggling and kicking but something stops me: I recognize the voice trying to calm me down. I open my eyes.

"Coty?" I ask and he nods, brushing my hair away with a shaky hand. I look into his sky blue eyes and I know that he's safe and I'm okay. A sob escapes my throat and I collapse into him, thankful he's alive. He holds me to his chest and breathes heavily.

"I thought someone was taking you!" He tells me, "I assumed the worst when I heard you screaming my name," Coty shudders and kisses the top of my head, "I was just about ready to kill some peacekeepers!"

"I thought you were already taken," I admit and I try to make myself stop shaking.

"No, no. I was just trying to forage for some food," He explains and I nod, feeling stupid. Of course that's what he was doing!

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I pull away from him finally and he smiles sheepishly.

"You looked so cute and content. I couldn't take you away from your dreams." Says Coty and I scoff at him, I don't think now is a very good time to try and hit on me.

"Well that was a really dumb decision," I say, wrapping my arms around myself, shivering because I'm not wearing much: just what I had fallen asleep in. "I can't even remember what I was dreaming about."

"Too bad. You looked happy," Coty says and motions for me to follow him, "Come on, I found some mushrooms that might be edible." He says and my stomach gurgles, it's been at least twelve hours since I've eaten last; what I'd really like to do is go back to camp, restart the fire and wolf down the rest of the beef jerky, but I know that won't happen.

"I don't have shoes." I say dumbly once I take a step forward, looking down at my feet. I had forgotten about my bare feet in my rush to find him. He looks down at my feet and nods and motions for me to climb onto his back. I sigh in relief as my feet leave the prickly, rough forest floor. He carries me in silence back to the camp and I wonder if I weigh too much, but he doesn't seem to have a problem with carrying me so I rest my head on his shoulder.

Everything will work out. It has to. My mind wanders to District 13, I wonder if they'll have room for us. I sure hope so because there's not really anywhere else for us to go, besides the wilderness that is. We've pretty much risked everything coming out here.

We enter the clearing where our little makeshift camp is nestled, the fire embers are barely glowing and my clothes are a bit damp from the dew but otherwise dried out. When Coty sets me down I hurry to put them on, suddenly embarrassed by my indecency. He tries to coax the burning coals to start another fire, but he's having issues. After I'm fully dressed and my shoes are on I speak up, "Should we eat the rest of the food now? We should only be a couple days away from District 13."

He considers this while still prodding the embers, "Probably not, we should save it just in case we're out here longer than we expect," He declares and I sigh, brushing my fingers through my tangled fiery hair. Who knew sleeping in the forest could make your hair so unimaginably messy? Suddenly I ache for my shower with all of my shampoos and soaps and air-mats. Living in the Capitol you really do take simple things like shiny hair for granted, along with everything else.

He stands up from squatting by the fire and claps his hands together, startling me, "Well, ready to go get some food?" I nod and I wonder how he has so much energy on such an empty stomach as he turns away and walks toward the woods.

I begrudgingly trudge after him, trying not to be too grumpy about having to eat raw mushrooms and roots. Look on the bright side, Lavinia! You won't starve!

...But you might die of food poisoning if you aren't careful. At least you'll die with a full tummy though!

I really need to stop thinking about this stuff.

. . .

While we walk I look down at my dirty clothes and hands, thankful that I'm not too crazy about my appearance. Half of the kids in my school have panic attacks whenever their skin comes into contact with anything outside.

My thoughts drift back to those years spent at school. A good deal of my time there was spent either trying to fit in or stand out.

…It's a little confusing but let me explain: my hair color is my natural color, I've never gotten a body mod, or a piercing, and my clothing has always been relatively simple. I was the girl who stood out because of my plain-ness.

When you're normal and surrounded by primped, curled, sparkly, colorful kids it turns out that you're the one noticed. It especially bothered me when I was younger, I didn't understand why I had to look so different from my classmates.

Turns out that along with President Snow and the Hunger Games, my parents were also against traditional grooming patterns inside the city. They always believed that we were born with our skin color for a reason, along with our hair and eye color; changing them would be a betrayal our purpose on this earth. I was too young to understand this and I frankly thought it was just a bunch of crap.

After a bit of nasty teasing one day, I ran home crying and locked myself in the bathroom. There were three girls who made it their personal goal to make me feel like a freak, and it didn't really help that they were the most popular girls in school. Together they looked dazzling to me, each girl had one color they always dyed their hair or dressed in and soon they were identified as their color: There was Sky, Blossom, and Daisy and they were blue, pink, and yellow (although daisies are traditionally white and I tried to point that out to them on several occasions). They always had the latest fashions and it was rumored that their parents were inside President Snow's inner circle.

My parents weren't home for several hours, so little 9-year-old me saw it as a perfect opportunity to take my appearance into my own hands. With Blossom's nasty remarks repeating over and over in my head and my eyes on my bland, boring, stupid reflection I pulled out a sewing pin from my mother's basket in the cupboard. I then attempted to pierce my own ears. That's how I found out I have a very low tolerance for blood.

Needless to say I was grounded for a month and I was given a stern talking to. And as if those things weren't enough I had a scar on my right earlobe, indicating what I had tried to do.

When Coty saw it the next day during class he leaned over and whispered in my ear, "You don't need to change how you look to be pretty or normal. You're the normal one. Not those girls."

My eyes filled with tears and I threw my arms around him, right in the middle of a lecture.

"Ahem." The teacher said and I heard giggles erupt around the classroom, I pulled away quickly with both of our faces burning. We were already ridiculously unpopular (he was just as plain as I was) and from that day on we were also teased about being so close of friends. Liking the opposite sex was not acceptable.

Soon my insecurities about my appearance vanished as we entered high school and found other kids like us, it had almost become a fad among the student body to be plain and natural. That's where I picked up the rest of my friends.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm relieved that I had never changed myself to fit society's standards, because my appearance is one less thing that I have to worry about out here. I'm already worried about not having enough to eat, so not having to worry about breaking a nail or my roots showing is a relief.

And now that I'm older, liking the opposite sex is completely acceptable. I look at Coty walking a little bit ahead of me, if we get out of this I want us to be together.

It's almost noon now and there haven't been very many incidents as we walk along the banks of the river, following the directions Coty's GPS has given us.

I blow my bangs out of my face and resist the urge to yawn, who knew running for your life was so boring? Our surroundings don't change in appearance and I'm worried that we're stuck walking in circles, the river is on the left of us and the forest chattering with life is on our right. Walking for hours on top of our lack of sleep leaves me more fatigued than I've ever felt.

"What do you think it'll be like?" I ask Coty, referring to District 13.

He scratches his neck and thinks about it, "Probably very strict and organized."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, they'd need to be to survive."

"And if they aren't strict and organized?"

"… It probably fell long ago," He finishes and I truly hope that that's not the case. How badly would that suck? Coming all this way to find what everyone expects to be there: nothing.

Suddenly, without warning, a high-pitched, shrieking alarm comes from the GPS and Coty drops it, cussing.

I shrink away from the wailing and cover my ears with my hands, "What is that?" Coty shakes his head and follows my example, also plugging his ears.

We both look down at the device resting on the leaves and dirt and we see the little white dot signifying our position flashing. I gasp as I see a red dot quickly approaching it on the small screen. Coty lets out another string of curse words, scoops it up and throws the GPS into the river, muffling the alarm and sending the god forsaken thing to the bottom of the river.

"We have to run!" He shouts and we take off into the cover of trees, feeling the atmosphere change around us. Once shielded by a bush I turn around and the largest hovercraft I've ever seen emerges above the river, sending the water rippling in every direction. It's passing right by us when I stumble backwards and hit the ground, the wind knocked out of me.

I'm petrified with fear, gasping for air when I feel Coty's hands jerk me up to a standing position. His lips are moving but I can't hear anything but a ringing in my ears that sounds strangely similar to the one the GPS was emitting.

He grabs my hand and pulls me along. I can't believe what's happening, the Capitol found us. They found us. We were so close. It was that GPS that gave us away. I knew it wasn't a good idea.

Now they're going to kill us, just like they killed our parents and our friends. I'm not ready to die. I'm not ready.

"Lavinia!" I hear Coty hiss ahead of me, "You have to keep quiet. They might hear us."

Wait, was I saying that all out loud? I try to calm down, we're not caught yet. Panicking now may be the difference between life and death.

We run as fast as we can, trying to put as much distance as we can between us and the hovercraft. The trees fly by us and the only sound I hear is the crunching of our feet hitting the forest floor beneath us and our own heavy breathing.

We both stop for some reason, all of the birds have gone eerily silent. Coty is looking frantically around for some sort of a cave or a hole to hide in and something catches my eye.

A single bird calls ominously as I make eye contact with a girl. Her stormy eyes cloud with confusion and I notice she has a boy with her, both of them nestled behind a large rock. His arm is protectively around her and a sliver of hope wiggles its way into my heart. Maybe they can help us!

"Help-" I call out but the next thing I know I'm tangled in a net, feeling myself being yanked upwards. I look down at Coty just in time to see a spear attached to a cable enter through his back and come out his chest. My whole world shatters.

"COTY!" I scream, anguish filling my voice and I'm pulled up into the hovercraft and shut into darkness.

. . .

When I wake up I'm bound to a chair in a dark room, my wrists, and feet strapped to the metal chair. A single light bulb flickers directly above me and I realize where I am.

Memories come flooding back to me: running for my life, seeing the girl, the net, and the spear. The spear going through Coty's body.

"No! NO! Coty! Where are you!" I shout, tears running down my face as I jerk my head around, looking for him in the darkness.

I sob as I pull against the straps, trying to break free. Coty can't be dead. He can't be. A picture of his smiling face flashes in my head but is immediately replaced by an image of the spear slicing into him.

Sobs wrack my entire body, I don't care who hears.

A door slides open with a light beep behind me and I hear even and calculated footsteps make their way toward me. I squeeze my eyes shut and struggle even more as they get nearer and nearer. My heart is pounding against my chest as they stop in front of me. I open my eyes, only seeing the pristinely shined boots and ironed pants of a man standing right in front of me.

"Where is Coty?" I say through clenched teeth, keeping my gaze turned down. My own shoes have been removed and I notice I'm in a plain hospital gown.

"If you behave, we'll let you see him." The man's rough, serious voice says.

I look up in surprise, eyes still wet. My heart lifts a little at the idea of Coty being alive. The man has white, cropped hair and steely grey eyes. His face is tanned and worn from years of… Fighting? I'm not sure.

"What? Is he okay?" I blurt, suddenly anxious.

"I'll be the one asking the questions here," He says and starts to make his way around me, my gaze follows him.

"What do you want to know?" I ask cautiously, not trusting him one bit. But the idea of being able to see Coty again makes me ache so much I push away my worries.

"Are you aware of who your parents were?" He asks me and I nod.

"They were part of the rebellion."

"Ah, so you do know about the rebellion," He continues to circle slowly around me, hands clasped behind his back.

"I didn't know about it until after… After they were taken."

"I see. What were you doing in the middle of the forest approximately a mile outside of District 12?"

"We were trying to find District 13," I swallow, my throat feeling dry.

"And why, Lavinia, were you doing that?" He stops in front of me and puts a hand on either side of my chair, leaning down to be eye level with me. I push my head back as far as it will go.

"Because we heard that people were still there." I croak, trying to hold eye contact with him.

"And what would those people do for you? Hm?" He whispers and I can feel his breath on my face, a disgusted shiver travels up my spine.

"Give us somewhere to stay," I practically whisper. He's suddenly gone from my face and he pulls a stool out from the dark and sits down in front of me.

"Who all was in your parent's organization?" He asks, pulls out a pocketknife and flicks it open, I flinch. He chuckles darkly at my reaction and begins cleaning underneath his nails with the pointed end.

"I- I'm not sure."

"We both know that's a lie," He finishes with poison leaking from his voice, I can't help the whimper that escapes me when his runs his finger along the edge.

"My parents and Coty's parents."

"… And?"

"The Markhams." I say, well aware that they were already taken.

"Well there is one person we know about, we're just not exactly sure. He's higher up and has something to do with the Hunger Games." He drawls and I feel my pulse race, the head Game Maker. I think Coty told me about him.

"I-I'm not sure." I lie and he lifts an eyebrow.

"Dear Lavinia, I'm not sure you understand what kind of a situation you're in," He says and motions to a dark corner and a young boy steps out from it, looking pale and grim. My surprise is obvious when I gasp, how long has he been there? He looks only about 12 and my eyes travel down to his hands, they're bound and I look back up at his face. We make eye contact and I recognize him.

"Zack," I breath, it's Zack Markham, the youngest son.

"So you know each other? Zack. Say hello to Lavinia," He motions for Zack to step closer. The boy starts to cry and opens his mouth and nothing comes out but a whimpered guttural sound. It's all too familiar and before I know it I'm crying again.

"Oh, Zack. Oh, no," I shake my head in shock as more tears leak out, he's an avox. They cut out his tongue. He's looking at me with shame and sadness, but there's something else there. Disappointment.

"Zack didn't cooperate, did you, Zack?" The general says and Zack shakes his head, no longer crying. I want to get up and hug him, along with kicking stupid General in the head, suddenly furious with the Capitol and what they did to him.

He sends Zack out and turns back to me, tilting his head. "You'll cooperate, won't you, Lavinia?" I sigh in defeat and nod, but I really don't plan on it.

"Who's the rat?"

I sigh and hang my head, as if I really don't want to tell him, "I don't know where you got the Hunger Games idea from," I say, trying to make myself sound believable, "But there is another higher up figure I know about…"

I can't tell them about the Game Maker guy, that would ruin everything my parents worked for. I have to hold up, for them.

"What do you mean?" General asks, sounding confused and angry.

"Reeo Light," I blurt out, choosing one of President Snow's shadier inner circle members. I remember reading something about him in a gossip magazine. I don't actually know if he is part of the rebellion but my stomach does a flip when something flashes in General's eyes. Apparently recognition and surprise.

"You do realize that this is a serious accusation and it cou-"

"Hey, it's just what I heard," I reasoned, "I could be wrong."

He stares at me a little while longer and I try my best not to shift under his gaze, I hold eye contact with him.

"Very well," He says suddenly and stands up, brushing his pants off.

"I can see Coty now?" I ask, my heart thudding. I need to see him.

General grins darkly and nods, "Very well."

Suddenly I feel a bag go over my head and my straps are taken off, I'm jerked upwards by rough hands and I almost fall right back down. I struggle to not scream out or panic, I need to cooperate to see him.

I'm pushed forward and my bare feet slap against the cold metal floor, hands still clamped down on my forearms. I can tell I'll have bruises tomorrow.

We turn some corners and the next thing I know I'm thrown into a room and a door slams behind me. A metallic, strange scent greets me and I work the hood off of my head and I immediately drop to my knees.

I'm in a morgue. With one body, shrouded by a white sheet.

"No." I whisper numbly, this can't be happening.

I stand up on shaky legs and walk over to the body, praying that it's not my best friend underneath the sheet.

I pull the sheet back gingerly and my hand flies to my mouth, Coty stares up at me with unseeing eyes. I hold my stomach and back away, all the way to the wall.

"No!" I repeat it over and over again as I slide to the floor, my eyes glued to Coty's side profile. Cold and unmoving.

"Why!" I sob, they took him from me and made me believe he was alive. How could they have done that? I feel as though he could sit up at any moment and turn to me, a worried look on his face and then ask me if I'm okay.

My best friend, my last friend. Gone, although his body remains. He was just alive. Just telling me about District 13. Just looking at me with those sky blue eyes. Just encouraging me to keep moving. My hands find my hair and grip it, I pull. That can't be him over there on that table. This is a nightmare.

"Wake up, Lavinia," I sob to myself, pulling at my hair and squeezing my eyes closed. "Wake up!"

When I open my eyes he's still there.

Why did they kill him? Why didn't they kill me?

"Why? Why? _Why?_" I repeat now, my whole body filled with such pain I can't stand it.

The Capitol killed him like they killed my parents. Now I have no one; they took everyone away from me.

With new resolve I cross over to Coty. Coty's body. He's gone.

"I love you, Coty." I say and kiss his cheek, the last kiss I'll ever give him. With trembling fingers I reach out and close his eyes. His skin is cold, just like the conductor's.

I can almost hear him say it back, but he doesn't. I grip the top of the table he's on and I press my forehead against his, crying again. My tears drip into his hair and my hands move to cradle his face.

This isn't fair. I'm overwhelmed with so much hate for the Capitol I actually scream.

As if hearing my scream the door slides open with the same soft beep, "Alright. You've had your time to say goodbye. Let's go," I hear and look up to the source, the General stands with his hands clasped behind his back. Pure, venomous, loathing fills my veins. I cry out and launch myself at him, clawing at his face.

"Why did you kill him?" Tears stream down my cheeks as my fingernails rake down his face.

He grunts, grabs my wrists, and pretty much crushes them in his grip, but I don't care.

"He killed a man, he attacked another. He was too dangerous to keep as an avox," He explains and I'm ripped away and something is injected into my arm by a guard.

"If only you had cooperated..." The general says, not sounding sorry at all.

"You killed everyone I loved, that's the last thing I'm going to do." I spit but I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. As a thick veil of thoughtless gray descends over my mind I realize my fate: I'm going to lose my tongue. The Capitol won. I was stupid to think we could have ever gotten away, and because we ran Coty got killed.

"Coty… I'm so sorry." I say before I'm enveloped in darkness.

Those are the last words I say.


End file.
